Halle Berry’s Ex Olivier Martinez Seeks More Child Support Amid Low Residuals

Olivier Martinez once portrayed Diane Lane’s seductive lover in “Unfaithful,” starred opposite Angelina Jolie in “Taking Lives,” and played a drug lord in “S.W.A.T.” The French actor also dated Kylie Minogue before marrying Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry.

Now 60, Martinez says he earns an average of just $776.34 a month in acting residuals—about $9,316 a year. He is also seeking additional financial support from his former wife.

According to court documents reported by TMZ and Page Six on November 10, Martinez has asked to increase the child support he receives from Berry. She currently pays him $8,000 per month, along with a percentage of her annual income exceeding $2 million.

The request comes during a contentious custody dispute involving the couple’s 13-year-old son, Maceo. Martinez is also seeking $240,000 to cover legal fees, pointing to his limited income, considerable monthly expenses, and financial assets.

(Photo by Vincent Sandoval/WireImage)

The $8,000-A-Month Child Support Agreement

Berry and Martinez married in July 2013 and welcomed their son three months later. They separated in October 2015, but their divorce proceedings dragged on for nearly eight years before a final settlement was reached in August 2023.

Under that agreement, Berry and Martinez shared joint legal and physical custody of Maceo. Berry agreed to pay Martinez $8,000 per month in child support, equivalent to $96,000 annually, plus 4.3% of any annual income she earns above $2 million.

For perspective, if Berry earns $5 million in a year, that provision would trigger an additional $129,000 payment, bringing her total annual child support obligation to $225,000. Berry also agreed to cover Maceo’s private-school tuition, health insurance, medical expenses, therapy, and certain extracurricular activities.

Importantly, Martinez’s reported $776 in monthly acting residuals is separate from his child support income. He already receives at least $8,000 a month from Berry, with potentially substantial additional payments depending on her earnings.

Why Martinez Wants More Money

Until recently, Berry and Martinez divided physical custody of Maceo equally. That changed in October 2026 after Martinez accused Berry of physically abusing their son during an incident on September 26.

According to court documents, Martinez alleged that Berry entered Maceo’s bedroom while he was playing a virtual reality game, jumped on him, put her hands around his neck, and choked him. Martinez claimed Maceo subsequently called him in distress and asked to be picked up from Berry’s home.

Berry vehemently denied the allegations. She acknowledged that she and Maceo had been play-wrestling but insisted she never choked him, restricted his breathing, or physically abused him. Her attorneys characterized Martinez’s accusations as meritless and misleading.

On October 1, a judge granted Martinez a temporary domestic violence restraining order and substantially reduced Berry’s parenting time. However, after multiple days of hearings, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelley Kaufman dissolved the restraining order on October 29 and denied Martinez’s request for a permanent restraining order, finding that he had not met the required burden of proof.

Despite that decision, the judge left the modified custody arrangement in place. Martinez retained primary physical custody, while Berry was denied overnight visits with Maceo. Both parents continued to share legal custody.

According to Martinez’s latest filing, he now cares for their son approximately 82% of the time, compared with Berry’s 18%. He argues that because he is responsible for the overwhelming majority of Maceo’s day-to-day care, Berry should pay more than the $8,000 per month established under their original 50/50 custody arrangement.

Martinez has not specified exactly how much additional support he wants. Instead, he has requested updated financial disclosures from Berry so that a new support calculation can be prepared. The former spouses are scheduled to return to court on December 17, 2026.

$17,556 In Monthly Expenses And $240,000 In Legal Fees

According to TMZ, which obtained Martinez’s income and expense declaration, the actor reported averaging just $776.34 per month in acting residuals while listing $17,555.99 in monthly expenses and proposed spending needs. That translates to more than $210,000 in annual expenses and proposed spending against approximately $9,300 in annual acting residuals.

The declaration also reportedly listed $43,206.22 in various financial accounts and real estate valued at $550,000. The property was described in subsequent reporting as his only significant asset.

Martinez also disclosed substantial legal liabilities stemming from the custody battle. In a separate request filed in early November, he asked the judge to order Berry to pay $240,000 toward his attorney fees.

That amount includes $176,522.58 in outstanding legal bills and another $63,477.42 in anticipated future expenses. His outstanding attorney fees alone are more than four times the amount he reports holding in financial accounts.

Martinez argues that he lacks the resources to continue paying his attorneys while Berry has substantially greater financial means.

This is not the first time the former couple’s financial imbalance has surfaced in court. In September 2024, Berry claimed she had spent more than $200,000 in legal fees trying to resolve their parenting disagreements, including voluntarily contributing $80,000 toward Martinez’s legal expenses.

In those same filings, Berry alleged that Martinez depended on her child support payments for his living expenses. As reported by Us Weekly, Berry wrote that Martinez “lives off my child support” and argued that she needed to continue working to meet those obligations.

From Hollywood Leading Man To $776 In Monthly Residuals

Martinez’s reported acting income is particularly striking considering his Hollywood résumé. The French actor began his career in the early 1990s, winning a César Award for Most Promising Actor for “Un, deux, trois, soleil.” He became an international star after appearing opposite Juliette Binoche in 1995’s “The Horseman on the Roof.”

His Hollywood breakthrough came in 2002 with “Unfaithful,” in which he played the French bookseller who begins a passionate affair with Diane Lane’s married character. The film grossed more than $119 million worldwide and made Martinez an international sex symbol.

He followed that success with “S.W.A.T.,” which grossed more than $207 million worldwide, and “Taking Lives,” opposite Angelina Jolie.

Martinez continued working in films and television, including appearances in “Revenge,” “Texas Rising,” and the Apple TV+ comedy “Loot,” in which he played a wealthy French philanthropist romantically involved with Maya Rudolph’s character.

Although his Hollywood career never maintained the momentum of his early-2000s breakthrough, his recent disclosures are still surprising. The residual payments he receives today bear little resemblance to the commercial success of some of the films in which he appeared.

Meanwhile, his request for increased child support and $240,000 in legal fees remains unresolved. The court has not announced a new support amount, and the custody arrangement could change again following the December 17 hearing.

For now, a former Hollywood leading man who reports earning less than $800 a month in acting residuals already receives at least $96,000 annually in child support from his Oscar-winning ex-wife. And he’s asking the court to make that payment even larger.