West Virginia’s Capitol city rolled out the red carpet Wednesday for Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry, who joined U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito at an elementary school for a roundtable discussion about menopause research.

Berry and Capito, R-W.Va., visited fifth grade students at Piedmont Elementary School on Charleston’s East End Wednesday morning for Capito’s Girls Rise Up. The program is designed to encourage young girls to be confident and become future leaders.

The Girls Rise Up event at Piedmont – the state’s only year-round public school – was the 32nd event for the program first launched by Capito in 2015. Girls Rise Up focuses on encouraging girls to continue their education, improve their physical fitness and develop self-confidence.

Later that morning, Berry and Capito held a roundtable discussion at the Kanawha County Public Library in downtown Charleston focused on menopause.

Berry is a supporter of S.4246, the Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act. The bill’s lead sponsor is Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murphy, D-Wash., and 12 bipartisan co-sponsors, including Capito, who also serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act – introduced on May 2 in a ceremony that included Berry, Capito, and other bill co-sponsors – would appropriate $275 million into federal research on perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause. The bill would also fund better physician training on menopause and a public awareness campaign aimed at women.

“Womens’ health and the health of West Virginians in general is something that is exceedingly important to me,” Capito said. “As a woman myself obviously, I want to see us be able to age into our years as healthily and as impactfully as we can and happily. We want to be happy. I consider that a core value for me.”

According to the National Institute on Aging within the National Institutes of Health, menopause is defined as the time frame 12 months after a woman’s final period that affects women between the ages of 45 and 55. The symptoms and severity of symptoms can vary, but include changes in periods, hot flashes, bladder issues and infections, sleep issues, mood changes, and more. Some women can begin experiencing symptoms early, called perimenopause.

Berry, whose birthday was Wednesday, turned 58. Her interest in advocating for menopause research began when she started to experience painful issues when she turned 54 that were later determined to be menopause symptoms. When her doctor could not explain why she was having the pain and other symptoms, she decided to use her star power to raise awareness and encourage medical research into menopause.

“This is a subject that I am passionate about,” Berry said. “That afternoon, I decided if I don’t have answers from one of the best doctors in California…then I can only imagine how many millions and millions of women might be going through something similar or worse things who deserve answers and need answers. That’s what got me on my mission.”

“She came to my office talking about the untalkable,” Capito said of her first meeting with Berry on menopause research. “She had an idea about how to make it better and how to shine a light on a topic that was not only impacting her life but so many other lives around this country that never really gets the attention it should have.”

“Senator Capito was one of the first senators I spoke with,” Berry said. “I have to say that right away, it was a no-brainer. I knew I was with a women’s woman and I knew I was with a friend right away.”

Wednesday’s roundtable discussion included several doctors and their patients, other healthcare professionals, AARP representatives, and state health and human services officials – all women except one male ob/gyn – who all shared their stories of their own menopausal experiences and the need for better data and access to treatments, such as estrogen replacement.

Berry won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2001 for “Monster’s Ball,” becoming the first African-American woman to earn the coveted Oscar at that time. She is known for roles in the X-Men franchise, “Swordfish,” “Die Another Day,” the John Wick franchise, and many other movies and programs. But Berry said right now, her most important role is that of advocate.

“The truth is if I never had to make another movie or television show again and I could just advocate for women’s health and menopause specifically, I would do that,” Berry said. “This is what wakes me up in the morning and keeps me up at night. I am determined, with the help of Senator Capito and all the great people in Washington, to really make a difference and change the lives of women. I can’t think of a better thing to do.”

According to stats provided by Capito’s office, 75 million women are either in perimenopause, menopause, or post-menopause, with 6,000 women entering menopause each day. Berry wants to end any stigma about menopause, which she calls not a disease by a normal part of the normal development of women.

“We’re not done in mid-life, but our society would tell us that after babies there is no more use for us,” Berry said. “That’s why our issues are not focused on, because nobody cares about us anymore. We’ve done what we came here to do so they say…I know I want to live my best life, and I know I want to live a long time for my grandchildren. We know women are living into their 80s but we’re living in poor health. Why is that? Because no one has cared.”

Berry will be on ABC Good Morning America this morning talking about menopause research and the Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act.