The 40-year-old actress, who was devastated when her marriage to baseball player David Justice collapsed in 1996, only changed her mind after thinking of the effect it would have on her mother.
She told Parade magazine: "I was sitting in my car, and I knew the gas was coming, when I had an image of my mother finding me. She sacrificed so much for her children, and to end my life would be an incredibly selfish thing to do.
"It was all about a relationship. My sense of worth was so low. I had to re-programme myself to see the good in me. Because someone didn't love me didn't mean I was unlovable. I promised myself I would never be a coward again."
Halle received therapy after the incident and went on to marry musician Eric Benet in 2001. The couple divorced in 2005.
Click here to find out more!
The Oscar-winning actress, who is now dating model Gabriel Aubry, has revealed she is desperate to start a family.
Halle said: "Now my sights are set on a different chapter in my life, which is motherhood. That's the goal I have very clearly set for myself."
[Via Halle Berry's suicide confession]