Angela Bassett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Angela Bassett
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Bassett at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con
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Angela Evelyn Bassett
August 16, 1958 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | Yale University (BA, MFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1984–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is a famous American actress. She has been working in movies and TV shows since the 1980s. Angela Bassett has won many awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. She has also been nominated for two Academy Awards.
In 2023, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She also received a special Academy Honorary Award for her amazing career.
Angela Bassett became very well-known for playing singer Tina Turner in the movie What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She also starred in popular films like Boyz n the Hood (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Waiting to Exhale (1995), and How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998).
More recently, she played Queen Ramonda in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). For Wakanda Forever, she won another Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
On television, Bassett played Katherine Jackson in the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992). She also played Rosa Parks in the TV movie The Rosa Parks Story (2002), which earned her an Emmy nomination. She also earned Emmy nominations for her roles in the horror series American Horror Story. Since 2018, she has been starring as Athena Grant in the TV drama 9-1-1. She also helps produce the show.
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Early Life and School Days
Angela Bassett was born in New York City. Her mother, Betty Jane, was a social worker. Angela's middle name, Evelyn, was given to her after her aunt. When Angela was very young, her parents divorced. Her mother took Angela and her sister to St. Petersburg, Florida.
Angela did not see her father for several years after the divorce. She later met her older half-sister, Jean, at her grandmother's funeral.
Schooling in Florida
After elementary school, Angela attended Disston Middle School. This was in 1970, just before St. Petersburg officially started busing students to different schools for integration. She later went to Azalea Middle School. Angela's mother encouraged her daughters to study hard and go to college.
When she was younger, Angela loved the Jackson 5. She dreamed of marrying one of the group members. Angela and her sister often put on shows for their family, reading poems or singing popular songs.
At Boca Ciega High School, Angela was very active. She was a cheerleader and part of the debate team. She was also involved in student government, the drama club, and the choir. Angela was mostly an "A" and "B" student. She was the first African American student at her school to join the National Honor Society. She was also part of the Upward Bound program, which helps students prepare for college.
College and Acting School
Angela studied at Yale University. She earned a degree in African American Studies in 1980. She then studied acting at the Yale School of Drama. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1983. Her aunt had advised her not to "waste" her Yale education on theater. Angela was the only one in her family to go to both college and graduate school.
At Yale, Angela met her future husband, Courtney B. Vance. He also studied at the drama school.
Angela Bassett's Acting Career
After finishing school, Angela worked as a receptionist and photo researcher. She did this to support herself while looking for acting jobs in New York.
Starting Out in the 1980s
One of her first performances in New York was in a play called Black Girl in 1985. She also appeared in two plays by August Wilson at the Yale Repertory Theatre. These plays were Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984) and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1986).
Angela made her first movie appearance in F/X (1986). She played a news reporter in this film. To do this, she had to join the Screen Actors Guild, which is a union for actors.
In 1988, Angela moved to Los Angeles to find more acting roles. She had early guest appearances on TV shows like A Man Called Hawk and 227 in 1989.
Becoming Famous in the 1990s
Angela Bassett started to get a lot of attention for her roles in movies like Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Malcolm X (1992). In Malcolm X, she played Betty Shabazz, the wife of Malcolm X. For this role, she won an NAACP Image Award.
Angela also played Katherine Jackson in the TV miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream. This show came out the same week as the movie Malcolm X.
Playing Tina Turner
After filming Malcolm X, Angela got a call to audition for a movie about Tina Turner. The movie was based on Tina Turner's life story. Angela won the main role over other actresses. She had only one month to get ready for filming.
She met with Tina Turner twice. Tina gave her advice on how to play the role, from her wigs and clothes to her dancing style. Tina Turner even helped Angela with her makeup. Angela said Tina was very supportive and her "biggest fan."
Angela's performance as Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993) received excellent reviews. Many critics said she gave an amazing performance. Angela won a Golden Globe for her role. She was the first African American actress to win this award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. She was also nominated for an Academy Award.
Other 1990s Films
In 1995, Angela starred in three movies: Vampire in Brooklyn, Strange Days, and Waiting to Exhale. In Strange Days, she played Lornette "Mace" Mason, a driver and bodyguard. She was excited to work with Eddie Murphy and director Wes Craven in Vampire in Brooklyn.
In 1997, Angela appeared in Contact. She played the President's advisor.
In 1998, Angela starred in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. She played Stella, a 40-year-old woman who falls in love with a younger man. Critics praised her performance. One critic said her character was "the best thing in the movie."
In 1999, Angela starred in Music of the Heart. She worked again with director Wes Craven on this film.
Roles in the 2000s
In 2000, Angela appeared in Supernova as a medical officer. She also starred in Boesman and Lena, a film based on a play. Critics said she showed a deep understanding of her character in this movie.
She was in the 2001 film The Score. Her character was in a relationship with Robert De Niro's character. Angela was interested in the script and met with Robert De Niro before filming.
Playing Rosa Parks
In 2002, Angela starred in The Rosa Parks Story. She played Rosa Parks, a civil rights hero. Critics praised Angela's strong performance. She was seen as the "star" of the film. She earned an Emmy nomination for this role.
In 2003, she read from old interviews with formerly enslaved African Americans for a film called Unchained Memories. These interviews were collected in the 1930s. They tell the stories of slavery and hardship.
In 2004, Angela had roles in The Lazarus Child and Mr. 3000. Mr. 3000 was a comedy where she starred with Bernie Mac. Angela said this film was much easier to act in than her more intense roles. She called Bernie Mac and Laurence Fishburne her "favorites" to work with.
In 2006, Angela played Tanya Anderson in Akeelah and the Bee. Tanya was the mother of the main character, Akeelah. Angela loved the story. She said working with young actress Keke Palmer was "really wonderful."
Angela also lent her voice to the animated film Meet the Robinsons in 2007. She said she took the role because it was a new type of character for her. She also wanted to be part of a movie that had a positive message about families.
In 2008, Angela joined the TV show ER for its final season. She played Dr. Catherine Banfield, a chief of the emergency room. Angela's real-life husband, Courtney Vance, played her TV husband on the show.
In the 2009 film Notorious, Angela played Voletta Wallace. She was the mother of the famous rapper The Notorious B.I.G.. To play Wallace's Jamaican accent, Angela talked with her a lot. She also practiced using tapes that Wallace made. Angela received good reviews for her performance.
Busy Years in the 2010s
In 2010, Angela voiced First Lady Michelle Obama in an episode of The Simpsons. In 2011, she starred in the superhero film Green Lantern. She played Amanda Waller, a well-known DC Comics character. Angela said working on the film was "a lot of fun."
In 2011, Angela also starred in the play The Mountaintop with Samuel L. Jackson. The play showed a fictionalized story of the night before Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The play was very popular and won an award in London. It later opened on Broadway.
She also appeared in the 2011 film Jumping the Broom. She played the mother of a wealthy family. Angela felt her character had a "real presence" in the film.
In 2013, Angela played Coretta Scott King in the TV film Betty and Coretta. She had played Betty Shabazz before, but this time she played Coretta Scott King. Angela said she was drawn to playing real-life women because she respected their stories and strength.
Action Movies and TV Shows
Angela appeared as Secret Service director Lynne Jacobs in the action movie Olympus Has Fallen, released in 2013. Angela noted that there had "never been a female head of the Secret Service." She called the choice to have a female African-American director "a bold casting choice." She enjoyed working with Morgan Freeman and director Antoine Fuqua.
She also appeared in the 2013 film Black Nativity. She sang in this movie, which was a new experience for her. Angela joked that she lied to the director about her singing ability to get the role!
In 2013, Angela joined the FX TV show American Horror Story: Coven. She played Marie Laveau, a voodoo witch. Angela praised the show's writers. Her performance earned her an Emmy nomination. She received another Emmy nomination for her role in a later season of the show.
In 2014, it was announced that Angela would direct Whitney. This was a TV film about the life of singer Whitney Houston. Angela had worked with Whitney Houston before.
In March 2016, Angela appeared in London Has Fallen. She played Lynne Jacobs again, her character from Olympus Has Fallen. Angela said it was her "very first sequel" and she was excited to do another film.
In January 2018, Angela joined the Fox TV drama 9–1–1. She plays officer Athena Grant. She is also an executive producer for the show.
Marvel and Mission: Impossible
In February 2018, Angela starred in the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Black Panther. She played Queen Ramonda, the mother of the main character. She briefly played the role again in Avengers: Endgame the next year.
In July 2018, she played CIA Director Erika Sloane in the action spy film Mission: Impossible – Fallout. In December 2018, she voiced the villain 'Shatter' in the Bumblebee movie.
Recent Work in the 2020s
Angela voiced Dorothea Williams in the Pixar animated film Soul, released in 2020. She also became the narrator for the Disney Enchantment show at Magic Kingdom in 2021.
In November 2022, she played Queen Ramonda again in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Her performance in this movie won her Best Supporting Actress awards at the 80th Golden Globe Awards and the 28th Critics' Choice Awards. She was also nominated for an Academy Award. This made her the first actor in a Marvel Studios movie to be nominated for an Oscar in an acting category.
She appeared with Millie Bobby Brown in the Netflix film Damsel, released in March 2024. Angela will also be starring in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which is set to come out in 2025.
Personal Life
Angela Bassett married actor Courtney B. Vance in 1997. They first met at Yale School of Drama. They became a couple more than ten years later when they met again in Los Angeles. In 2005, they starred together in a play called His Girl Friday. The couple has twins who were carried by a surrogate.
Angela supports programs for the arts, especially for young people. She attends events for children with diabetes and those in foster homes. She is an active Ambassador for UNICEF in the United States. She is also a member of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ. Angela supports the Royal Theater Boys & Girls Club in her hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida.
She supported Barack Obama in his presidential campaigns. She also supported Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. Angela spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
In 2013, Angela became an honorary member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She is a Pentecostal Evangelical Christian.
Filmography
Awards and Nominations
In 2018, Angela received an honorary degree from Yale University. She also received another honorary degree from Old Dominion University in 2022.
Throughout her career, Angela Bassett has won many awards. These include two Golden Globe Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the cast of Black Panther. She also won two Critics' Choice Awards. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, nine Emmy Awards, and a BAFTA Award. Her Oscar nomination for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022 was a first. It was the first time an actor from a Marvel film was nominated for an Oscar in an acting category.
Angela Bassett received a special Academy Honorary Award, also known as an honorary Oscar. She received it on January 9, 2024. This award recognized her amazing achievements in the film industry over her lifetime.
See also
In Spanish: Angela Bassett para niños
