Halle Berry is opening up about the emotions that came with watching her daughter Nahla Ariel Aubry leave the nest for college.
While speaking at the Create & Cultivate Festival Panel in Los Angeles on September 20, Berry revealed that 18-year-old Aubry’s move to college in another state has brought both pride and some understandable concern.
“She’s the first to go and she’s my baby girl,” Berry, who shares Nahla with former partner Gabriel Aubry, told PEOPLE. “I felt proud of her, but there’s a little fear. She’s in the world now all by herself.”
Berry said she hopes that she and Aubry raised their daughter well enough to make good decisions independently and that Nahla will make the most of her college experience.
“She went to another state, and I just hope that she makes the right decisions and that her dad and I hope we raised her up right and that she’ll make the most of her experience,” Berry said.
Halle Berry Previously Had a Different Perspective on Nahla Leaving
Berry’s latest comments offer an interesting continuation of how she approached the milestone more than a year earlier.
In June 2025, while serving as a guest co-host on “Today with Jenna & Friends,” Berry discussed Nahla’s upcoming independence as the then-17-year-old prepared to attend a summer program at the college she hoped to attend the following year.
At the time, Berry acknowledged that she would worry about her daughter but emphasized her excitement about what independence could bring.
“I’m not one of these moms that feels like, ‘Oh, she’s leaving.’ Yes, will I worry? Of course,” Berry said. “But am I excited for her to start her life and figure out who she’s gonna be? Absolutely. I’m dying to see who she’s gonna be and what she’s gonna do and what she’ll discover.”
Back then, Nahla permanently leaving home for college was still more than a year away. Now that the move has actually happened, Berry is putting words to the concern she anticipated, admitting there is “a little fear” in knowing her daughter is navigating life in another state.
The excitement hasn’t disappeared, however. Berry said the family remains “so supportive and so proud” of Nahla.
Halle Berry Reveals How Nahla’s Absence Changed Life at Home
Nahla’s departure hasn’t only been emotional for Berry. It has also changed everyday life at home for her 12-year-old son, Maceo-Robert Martinez, whom she shares with ex-husband Olivier Martinez. Berry said Maceo now gets to sleep in his sister’s bed and “feels like an only child” while Nahla is away.
There are apparently a few perks that come with the new arrangement. Berry explained that she and Maceo no longer have to compromise with Nahla over certain everyday decisions, including what the family will have for dinner.
“We don’t have to agree on dinner anymore,” Berry said. “He gets to decide these kinds of things for himself.” Still, Maceo misses his older sister, and Berry acknowledged that things feel “off” without Nahla at home.
The adjustment comes after a series of milestones for Berry’s eldest child. Nahla graduated from high school in June 2026, with Berry and Aubry both attending the milestone more than 16 years after their split.
Months earlier, in October 2025, Berry celebrated Nahla receiving an early college acceptance. The actress shared a photo of a celebratory cake on Instagram and congratulated her “sweet angel.”
Nahla had already gotten a glimpse of college life that summer when she attended a program at the school she hoped to attend. Those milestones have now culminated in the transition Berry had been anticipating since 2025.
Her feelings haven’t completely reversed since then. Berry always acknowledged that she would worry when her daughter left home. What has changed is that the hypothetical has become reality: Nahla is now living in another state, Maceo is adjusting to being the only child at home, and Berry is experiencing firsthand the mix of pride and concern she once discussed as something still to come.
For now, the family is settling into its new rhythm while supporting Nahla as she begins her next chapter.
