Angela Bassett

Captivating, gifted, and sensational, Angela Bassett's presence has been felt in theaters and on stages and television screens throughout the world. Angela Evelyn Bassett was born on August 16, 1958 in New York City, to Betty Jane (Gilbert), a social worker, and Daniel Benjamin Bassett, a preacher's son. Bassett and her sister D'nette grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida with their mother. As a single mother, Betty stressed the importance of education for her children. With the assistance of an academic scholarship, Bassett matriculated into Yale University. In 1980, she received her B.A. in African-American studies from Yale University. In 1983, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale School of Drama. It was at Yale that Bassett met her husband, Courtney B. Vance, a 1986 graduate of the Drama School.

In 1985, Bassett made her first television appearance as a prostitute in the made-for-TV movie Doubletake. She made her film debut as a news reporter in F/X (1986), for which she was required to join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). In 1990, Bassett played an airline stewardess alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, a tough cop who went undercover as a kindergarten teacher to crack a case in Kindergarten Cop. She gained recognition in the films Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Malcolm X (1992). For her portrayal of Betty Shabazz, she earned an Image Award. During the production of Malcolm X, Spike Lee showed Bassett a tape of the exact moment when Malcolm X was shot during his assassination, since they would be filming the scene. Bassett called the recording "haunting", but noted that after listening, she was "able to grab hold of the pain and re-create the scene." Bassett felt it was important for her to get the assassination scene correct, and wondered how Betty "found the strength to keep going, to raise her family, to educate, to sustain them." Malcolm X was released on November 18, 1992. Bassett played Katherine Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992). Bassett's agents tried to discourage her from playing the role, given the negative reception that Michael Jackson had. She admitted to not caring about the negative view of members of the Jackson family at the time, citing her childhood fondness of the group as an example of her passion for the project and believed her "instinct" about the role had been correct once learning of the positive reviews the miniseries received after airing. Later that year, Bassett was cast as Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993) Bassett won a Golden Globe and earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Turner. She was the first African-American to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Bassett obtained the role after beating Halle Berry and Robin Givens, but only had a month to prepare before filming began. She met Tina Turner twice, and was given advice by the woman she would be portraying from wigs and outfits to dancing styles. Turner also did Bassett's make up, leading Bassett to call her "supportive" and her "biggest fan."

Bassett starred in three movies in 1995, which were released with varied reactions from critics: Vampire in Brooklyn, Strange Days, and Waiting to Exhale (where she worked with author Terry McMillan). In Katherine Bigelow's cult film Strange Days, Bassett played Lornette "Mace" Mason, a chauffeur and bodyguard, it co-starred Ralph Fiennes and Juliet Lewis. In Vampire in Brooklyn, she played Rita Veder, a tortured cop with a dark secret. She was excited to work with Eddie Murphy in Vampire in Brooklyn, as well as director Wes Craven. Bassett had previously worked with Craven on television shows. Bassett's character in Waiting to Exhale, Bernadine Harris, was betrayed by her husband and in revenge she set fire to his entire wardrobe and vehicle, then sold what was left for one dollar. In 1997, she starred as the President's advisor in Contact. In 1998, Fatboy Slim sampled Bassett's voice from 1995's Strange Days, specifically the line "this is your life, right here, right now!", for his hit single "Right Here, Right Now". Also in 1998, Bassett starred in How Stella Got Her Groove Back, once again collaborating with McMillan. She played Stella, a 40-year-old American professional woman who falls in love with a 20-year-old Jamaican man. She received praise for the performance. In 1999, Bassett starred in Music of the Heart, once again collaborating with horror icon Wes Craven. It co-starred Meryl Streep. In 2000, Bassett turned down the lead role in Monster's Ball because of the script's sexual content; the role earned Halle Berry the Academy Award for Best Actress. The first film Bassett appeared in that year was Supernova, where she played a medical officer She appeared in the 2001 film The Score. Her character was in a relationship with Robert De Niro's. She read the film's script and became interested. She was then telephoned by director Frank Oz, who told her Robert De Niro would "like to meet with you". Bassett met with De Niro and later realized the conversation was meant to break the ice before they started filming.

In addition to The Score, that year she also had a role in the television film Ruby's Bucket of Blood. The following year, in 2002, Bassett acted in Sunshine State and The Rosa Parks Story. Bassett was cast as Rosa Parks, She earned a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her performance. In 2004, she had roles in the films The Lazarus Child and Mr. 3000 with Bernie Mac. In the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee, Bassett portrayed Tanya Anderson, the mother of the film's lead, Akeelah, played by Keke Palmer. Bassett said she loved the story, Bassett appeared in the television film Time Bomb the same year. Her role was seen as just an "extended cameo" by Brian Lowry of Variety. She next appeared in Of Boys and Men (2008), portraying Rieta Cole, the matriarch of a Chicago family who is killed in an accident in the beginning of the film and is seen through flashbacks for the remainder of the film. Bassett joined the regular cast of ER for the show's final season (2008–2009). She portrayed Dr. Catherine Banfield, an exacting Chief of the ER who was also working to recover from the death of a son and to bring another child into her family. Bassett's husband Courtney Vance played her television husband on ER as Russell Banfield. In the 2009 film Notorious, Bassett portrayed Voletta Wallace, the mother of The Notorious B.I.G. In 2010, Bassett lent her voice to portray First Lady Michelle Obama in an episode of The Simpsons titled "Stealing First Base". Bassett was also cast in the superhero film Green Lantern, released in 2011, as notable DC Comics character Amanda Waller, a role later played by Viola Davis in the Suicide Squad films. Basset also voiced the character Six in the first-person shooter game, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege.

Bassett co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson in the play The Mountaintop a fictionalized depiction of the night before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Jackson portrays MLK) while at the Lorraine Motel. The critically acclaimed play by Katori Hall originally debuted in London's West End in 2009 and went on to win the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. The production opened on Broadway on October 13, 2011. She also appeared in the 2011 film Jumping the Broom, playing the matriarch of a wealthy family. Bassett was featured in the 2012 film This Means War, Bassett portrayed Coretta Scott King in the television film Betty and Coretta, which aired on February 2, 2013, continuing her trend of portraying real women. Bassett had previously played Shabazz in both Malcolm X and Panther, but instead played Coretta Scott King opposite to Mary J. Blige, who played Shabazz. Bassett appeared as Secret Service director Lynne Jacobs in the action thriller Olympus Has Fallen (2013), She appeared in the 2013 film Black Nativity. She sang and it was seen as contributing to the film's "blissful unreality.' In 2013, Bassett appeared on FX TV show American Horror Story: Coven as Marie Laveau, a voodoo witch. Bassett's performance earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. She returned to the show for its fourth season American Horror Story: Freak Show, playing Desiree Dupree, a three-breasted woman. She received another nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. It was announced in May 2014 that Bassett would make her directorial debut with Whitney, a TV film based on the life of Whitney Houston, who Bassett had worked with previously. Bassett had previously expressed interest in directing the year before. It was announced in early June 2014 that Yaya DaCosta would play Houston in the film. Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, insulted Bassett on Twitter for not casting her as her mother in the film, to which Bassett admitted in an interview that she had never thought about casting Brown.


In March 2016, Bassett appeared in London Has Fallen, reprising her role as Lynne Jacobs. Bassett appeared in American Horror Story: Roanoke. She also directed its sixth episode, Bassett appeared in an episode of Master of None, portraying major character Denise's mother Catherine. Lena Waithe wanted Bassett after being impressed by her previous work though was convinced she would turn down the role and said Bassett's inclusion influenced the series drastically with "another layer" of tension. In January 2018, Bassett starred in the Fox first responder procedural drama 9-1-1, of which she is also a producer. In February 2018, Bassett starred in the acclaimed Marvel superhero film Black Panther as Queen Ramonda, mother of the titular character. In July 2018, she portrayed CIA Director Erika Sloane in the action spy film Mission: Impossible – Fallout. In December 2018, she voiced the Decepticon villain 'Shatter' from the Transformers live-action film Bumblebee. In 2019, she joined the cast of Gunpowder Milkshake. She also reprised her role as Ramonda in Avengers: Endgame. Bassett provided the voice of Dorothea Williams in the Pixar animated film Soul (2020).

n November 2022, she reprised her role as Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Her performance in the sequel garnered her Best Supporting Actress awards at the 80th Golden Globe Awards—making her the first actor to win a major individual acting award for a film based on Marvel Comics and at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards. She was also nominated for an Academy Award in the same category, which made her the first person in a Marvel Studios movie to be nominated for an Academy Award in any acting category. She is set to appear alongside Millie Bobby Brown in the Netflix film Damsel. Bassett married actor Courtney B. Vance in 1997. They first met at Yale School of Drama, then became a couple over a decade later after their paths crossed again in Los Angeles. In the summer of 2005, they starred together in a production of His Girl Friday at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The couple's twins – son Slater Josiah Vance and daughter Bronwyn Golden Vance – were carried by a surrogate. In December 2022, she was named as part of The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Power 100. Time named her among its 2023 honorees for Women of the Year. She will receive an honorary Oscar at this year’s Governors Award.