First Lady Jill Biden won't be around to lead her husband off any stages for a few days.

That's because she's visiting the University of Illinois in Chicago to talk about menopause with none other than Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry (Catwoman, Monster's Ball).

In addition to superstardom, Berry has become a women's health advocate who at age 57 should know something about menopause.

The White House said the afternoon visit is part of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research and will emphasize the importance of advancing research on menopause and women’s health.

Berry's views

“We can make talking about women’s health issues less taboo by daring to talk about it,” Berry wrote last year about menopause in Women's Health Magazine.

“I am challenging everything I thought I knew about menopause. Things like: ‘Your life is over.’ ‘You are disposable.’ ‘Society no longer has a place for you.’ ‘You should retire.’ ‘You should pack it up,’” she continued.

“I’m challenging all those stereotypes about how you have to look a certain way or feel a certain way. I’m my best self now that I reached 56 years old. I have the most to offer,” she said.

Having Berry along will surely draw more attention to menopause, the time of life when a woman stops being able to produce children.

A long way

Certainly, the world has come a long way from the attitude that a woman's only value is in her ability to bear children.

At 57, Berry has five upcoming movies in post-production for 2024 releases and could pass for far younger if she really wanted to.

Jill Biden is 72, and still carrying on an active role as First Lady--some say overly active in keeping up her husband's public profile as he ages.

Surely no one would suggest that Berry or Biden had become irrelevant because of hitting menopause.

Also visiting submarine

After the visit with Berry, Biden will travel to Hartford, Connecticut to visit the Naval Submarine Base there and meet with military families of crew on the USS Delaware (SSN-791).

The ship is special to the Bidens because President Joe Biden sponsors the ship and participated in its christening in 2018.

The First Lady also visited the ship in 2021.