Can celebrities really manifest their dream roles through style choices?
In her younger years, Bassett was reportedly "in love" with the Jackson 5 and often dreamed of marrying one of them. She and her sister would even put on shows, reading poems or performing popular music, as their interest in entertainment blossomed.
One of her first NYC performances was in J. E. Franklin's 'Black Girl' at Second Stage Theatre in 1985. She also appeared in two August Wilson plays—’Ma Rainey's Black Bottom’ (1984) and ‘Joe Turner's Come and Gone’ (1986)—at the Yale Repertory Theatre under the direction of her long-time instructor Lloyd Richards.
Angela Bassett was born August 16, 1958, in New York City. Her first role in a notable film only came in 1991, when she was around 33, which is perhaps why she has approached her career with grace and maturity ever since it began.
Bassett attended Yale University and received her BA degree in African-American studies in 1980. Then in 1983, she earned a MFA degree from the Yale School of Drama. Her skills and her iconic future roles were certainly no fluke.
Bassett played Katherine Jackson in the five-hour American miniseries based on the history of the Jackson family and the early success of the Jackson 5. A critical and commercial success, the program won an Emmy for the choreography, while Bassett's performance received widespread acclaim.
Bassett started her career off with a role in the iconic John Singleton’s ‘Boyz n the Hood,’ which made a lasting impression in pop culture as it shone a light on the systemic oppression, from poverty to the police, in a Los Angeles so-called ghetto. Singleton (left) became the youngest director and the very first Black person in film history to ever be nominated for the Best Director Oscar.
This dark comedy horror film directed by Wes Craven stars Eddie Murphy and Bassett, and though it was unsuccessful at the box office, years later it became something of a cult-favorite thanks to Craven's direction and Murphy and Bassett's chemistry and humor.
Her role in 'What's Love Got to Do with It' earned Bassett her first ever Oscar nomination. She also won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy, over fellow nominees Anjelica Huston, Diane Keaton, Meg Ryan, and Stockard Channing. Bassett made history as the first Black person to win the award, and tears streamed down cheeks as she accepted it.
Bassett reunited with her 'What's Love Got to Do with It' co-star Laurence Fishburne for 'Akeelah and the Bee' starring Keke Palmer. That same year, she and Fishburne also starred in August Wilson's 'Fences' at the Pasadena Playhouse in California.
Taking on yet another role of an icon in history, Bassett played the lead role of civil rights activist Rosa Parks in this made-for-TV biopic that follows Park's days as a private-school student to her public battle against racism and segregation. It earned Bassett a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress.
Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance met at Yale and were married in 1997. Vance is also an actor, both on stage and screen, and has had roles in 'The Preacher's Wife' (1996) led by Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston, as well as the newer series '61st Street.'
Once again playing the role of a civil rights activist, Bassett this time portrayed Coretta Scott King, who developed a friendship with Dr. Betty Shabazz after their husbands, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, were killed. It's fascinating since Bassett previously played Betty in 1992, who is this time played by none other than Mary J. Blige.
While the film was largely a flop, this marked Bassett's entrance into the realm of superhero films, though it was with DC. She played a former congressional aide and government agent named Amanda Waller.
With the privileged position of someone who actually knew Whitney Houston, Bassett took a turn behind the cameras as she directed the 2015 Lifetime made-for-TV biopic 'Whitney,' based on the legendary singer's turbulent marriage to Bobby Brown, just three years after she died.
Bassett began to star in the procedural drama '9-1-1' in 2018, which follows the lives of Los Angeles first responders, including police officers, paramedics, firefighters, and dispatchers. She plays LAPD patrol sergeant Athena Grant-Nash.
Bassett starred in the acclaimed Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film 'Black Panther,' which was a massive success and earned US$1.344 billion worldwide. She played Queen Ramonda, mother of the titular character, and briefly reprised the role the following year in 'Avengers: Endgame.'
In her Golden Globes speech, she spoke about the impact of the loss of Boseman and said, “We have joy in knowing that with this historic 'Black Panther' series, it is part of his legacy he helped lead us to, we showed the world what black unity, leadership and love looks like beyond, behind and in front of the camera.” And Bassett's legacy continues. Three decades after her first ever Oscar nod, Bassett is running in the big leagues once again.
See also: 'Black Panther' and a brief history of Black superheroes
She took home the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her role, making her, at 64 years old, the first actor ever to win a major individual acting award for a movie based on Marvel Comics. In her acceptance speech, she thanked Marvel fans for “embracing these characters and showing us so much love.”
Bassett tried her hand at an action thriller role in 'Olympus Has Fallen' (2013), and again in 'London Has Fallen' (2016), as Lynne Jacobs, Director of the US Secret Service.
Bassett worked with director Wes Craven once again in another music biopic, 'Music of the Heart,' which told the story of Roberta Guaspari, portrayed by Meryl Streep, who co-founded the Opus 118 Harlem School of Music and fought for music education funding in New York City public schools. Bassett's chemistry with Streep was a huge hit.
Directed by Spike Lee, the film stars Denzel Washington in the titular role and features Angela Bassett as Malcolm X's wife, Dr. Betty Shabazz. Bassett reportedly told the press she worried she had reached the peak of her career with such a fulfilling role, but she was just beginning.
She joined the ensemble series in its third season, 'Coven,' when she portrayed a fictional version of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo queen of New Orleans. In the fourth season, 'Freak Show,' she portrayed Desiree Dupree, a three-breasted Freak Show performer at the Fräulein Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities. For those two seasons she was nominated for the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.
'Waiting to Exhale' by Forest Whitaker follows four female friends all experiencing different relationship issues. The all-star cast features Bassett, Whitney Houston, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon. The soundtrack features African-American women exclusively, including Whitney Houston, and we get to see Angela Bassett set a car on fire. This also marked a tenderness for Houston that would come up later in Bassett's career.
This '90s classic, based on the novel by Terry McMillan, saw Bassett take on the role of an high-strung stock broker who escapes to Jamaica and falls in love with a man 20 years younger than her.
Despite audiences and critics recognizing her talent, she was suddenly out of work at the peak of her career, which isn't usually the case for white actors. “You think that after something like that, oh, scripts might be coming,” Bassett told Variety, adding she did not expect things to happen “the same as it would for others” in the industry but that her perseverance came with the attitude of “staying strong” through these challenges. Fortunately, she persisted.
Graceful but raw, tough but tender, joyful but empathic, Angela Bassett contains multitudes, which is extremely evident in the roles she’s portrayed throughout her career. It’s no coincidence she’s often been cast as strong female characters, many of whom were based on real people who bravely stood up for what they believed in, but who were also deeply human in the most surprising ways.
Bassett has carved a place for herself in the history of Black cinema, popularizing important stories that created a lasting cultural impact, and paving the way for future greats by honoring those of the past.
Click on to take a look back through Angela Bassett's meticulous, musical, and meaningful path to becoming a Hollywood screen legend.
Shining once again in a music biopic, Bassett took on the role of The Notorious B.I.G.'s mother (left) in the film that told the late rapper's tragic story.
In the fifth season, 'Hotel,' Bassett starred as Ramona Royale, a blaxploitation star afflicted by a mysterious blood virus. In the sixth season, 'Roanoke,' she played Monet Tumusiime, an actress reenacting Lee Harris in 'My Roanoke Nightmare,' which is the narrative device for the sixth installment.
Tracing Angela Bassett’s meticulous road to greatness
Bassett has carved a place for herself in the history of Black cinema
CELEBRITY Angela bassett
Graceful but raw, tough but tender, joyful but empathic, Angela Bassett contains multitudes, which is extremely evident in the roles she’s portrayed throughout her career. It’s no coincidence she’s often been cast as strong female characters, many of whom were based on real people who bravely stood up for what they believed in, but who were also deeply human in the most surprising ways.
Bassett has carved a place for herself in the history of Black cinema, popularizing important stories that created a lasting cultural impact, and paving the way for future greats by honoring those of the past.
Click on to take a look back through Angela Bassett's meticulous, musical, and meaningful path to becoming a Hollywood screen legend.