Angela Bassett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Angela Bassett
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Bassett at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival
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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 | 1982–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 worked 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 that year.
Bassett became very well-known for playing singer Tina Turner in the movie What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). This role won her a Golden Globe Award. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She starred in other successful films like Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Malcolm X (1992). Other popular movies include Waiting to Exhale (1995) and How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998).
Later, she took on supporting roles in action films like Olympus Has Fallen (2013). She also played Queen Ramonda in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. These include Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). For Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, she won another Golden Globe. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
On television, Bassett played Katherine Jackson in the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992). Her role as Rosa Parks in The Rosa Parks Story (2002) earned her an Emmy Award nomination. She also received Emmy nominations for her work in the horror series American Horror Story. Since 2018, Bassett has starred as Athena Grant in the drama series 9-1-1. She is also an executive producer for the show.
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Early Life and Education
Angela Bassett was born in New York City. Her mother, Betty Jane, was a social worker. When Angela was very young, her parents divorced. Her mother moved Angela and her sister D'nette to St. Petersburg, Florida.
Angela's mother encouraged her and her sister to go to college. Angela loved the Jackson 5 when she was young. She and her sister often put on shows for their family. They would read poems or sing popular songs.
At Boca Ciega High School, Angela was very active. She was a cheerleader and part of the debate team. She was also in student government, the drama club, and the choir. Angela was a good student. She became the first African American student at her school to join the National Honor Society. She was also part of the Upward Bound program. This program helps students from less privileged backgrounds prepare for college.
Bassett went to Yale University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts 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. At Yale, she met her future husband, Courtney B. Vance.
Acting Career Highlights
Starting Out in the 1980s
After college, Angela Bassett worked odd jobs while looking for acting roles. She performed in plays in New York. She also appeared in two plays by August Wilson at the Yale Repertory Theatre.
In 1985, Bassett made her first TV appearance in a film called Doubletake. Her first movie role was in F/X (1986). She then moved to Los Angeles in 1988 to find more acting opportunities.
Becoming a Star in the 1990s
Bassett gained a lot of attention for her roles in Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Malcolm X (1992). In Malcolm X, she played Betty Shabazz, the wife of Malcolm X. She won an NAACP Image Award for this role. Angela worked hard to understand Betty's strength. She wanted to show how Betty kept going after difficult times.
She also played Katherine Jackson in the TV movie The Jacksons: An American Dream. This movie came out the same week as Malcolm X.
Her most famous role came when she played Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). Angela had only one month to prepare for the role. She met with Tina Turner twice to learn about her life and style. Angela's performance was highly praised. She won a Golden Globe Award for it. She was the first African American actress to win this award. She was also nominated for an Academy Award.
In 1995, Bassett starred in three movies: Vampire in Brooklyn, Strange Days, and Waiting to Exhale. In Waiting to Exhale, she played Bernadine Harris. Her character famously set fire to her husband's clothes and car after he betrayed her.
In 1998, Bassett starred in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. She played Stella, a 40-year-old woman who falls in love with a younger man in Jamaica. Critics praised her performance. In 1999, she appeared in Music of the Heart.
Roles in the 2000s
In 2000, Bassett played a medical officer in Supernova. She also starred in Boesman and Lena, a film based on a play. Critics praised her strong performance in this movie.
She appeared in the 2001 film The Score with Robert De Niro. In 2002, Bassett played Rosa Parks in The Rosa Parks Story. Her portrayal of Rosa Parks was very strong. It earned her an Emmy nomination.
In 2004, she starred in the comedy Mr. 3000 with Bernie Mac. She found this role much easier than her more intense past roles. In 2006, she played Tanya Anderson in Akeelah and the Bee. She loved the story and enjoyed working with young actress Keke Palmer.
Bassett lent her voice to the animated film Meet the Robinsons in 2007. She liked that the movie had a positive message about families. In 2008, she joined the cast of ER for its final season. She played Dr. Catherine Banfield. Her real-life husband, Courtney Vance, played her TV husband on the show.
In 2009, Bassett played Voletta Wallace, the mother of rapper The Notorious B.I.G., in the film Notorious. She worked hard to get Wallace's Jamaican accent right.
Success in the 2010s
In 2010, Bassett voiced Michelle Obama in an episode of The Simpsons. She also played Amanda Waller in the superhero film Green Lantern (2011). She found working on a computer-generated film to be a new experience.
In 2011, Bassett starred with Samuel L. Jackson in the play The Mountaintop. This play was about the night before Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. She also appeared in the film Jumping the Broom.
In 2013, Bassett played Coretta Scott King in the TV film Betty and Coretta. She had previously played Betty Shabazz. Bassett said she was drawn to playing real-life women because she respected their stories and strength.
She also played Secret Service director Lynne Jacobs in the action film Olympus Has Fallen (2013). Bassett noted that there had never been a female head of the Secret Service before. She thought it was a bold choice to cast a woman of color in the role. She enjoyed working with Morgan Freeman and director Antoine Fuqua. She also sang in the film Black Nativity (2013), which was a new experience for her.
From 2013 to 2015, Bassett appeared in the FX TV show American Horror Story. She played Marie Laveau, a voodoo witch, in American Horror Story: Coven. Her performance earned her an Emmy nomination. She returned for American Horror Story: Freak Show, playing Desiree Dupree, and received another Emmy nomination.
In 2014, Bassett made her directing debut with Whitney. This TV film was based on the life of singer Whitney Houston.
In 2016, Bassett returned as Lynne Jacobs in London Has Fallen. This was her first time doing a movie sequel. She also appeared in American Horror Story: Roanoke and directed one of its episodes.
In 2018, Bassett joined the TV show 9–1–1 as officer Athena Grant. She is also an executive producer for the show.
In February 2018, Bassett starred as Queen Ramonda in the hit Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Panther. She briefly played the role again in Avengers: Endgame (2019). In July 2018, she was CIA Director Erika Sloane in Mission: Impossible – Fallout. She also voiced the villain 'Shatter' in the Bumblebee movie.
Recent Work in the 2020s
Bassett voiced Dorothea Williams in the Pixar animated film Soul, released in December 2020. She also became the narrator for the Disney Enchantment show at Magic Kingdom.
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 for Best Supporting Actress. This made her the first actor in a Marvel Studios film to be nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category.
In March 2024, she appeared with Millie Bobby Brown in the Netflix film Damsel. She also starred as the President of the United States in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which was released in May 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 acted together in a play called His Girl Friday. The couple has twins who were carried by a surrogate.
Bassett supports programs that help young people get involved in the arts. She also 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. Bassett supports the Royal Theater Boys & Girls Club in her hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida.
She has supported Barack Obama's presidential campaigns. She also endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. Bassett spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
In 2013, she became an honorary member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She is a Pentecostal Evangelical Christian.
Awards and Recognition
In 2018, Angela Bassett received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Yale University. She also received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Old Dominion University in 2022.
Throughout her career, Bassett has received many awards and nominations. These include two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award for the cast of Black Panther, and two Critics' Choice Awards. She has also been nominated for two Academy Awards, nine Emmy Awards, and a BAFTA Award. Her Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) was a historic moment. 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, 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
