Angela Evelyn Bassett was
Angela says she gets her dramatic nature from her mother, but she first
fell in love with acting at the age of 15 on a trip with her after-school theater program.
They traveled to The Kennedy Center in Washington DC,
and Angela was spellbound by James Earl Jones’ performance in John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men.’
That diligence prepared Angela to earn a B.A. in African American studies from Yale University in 1980.
She later completed an M.F.A. at the Yale School of Drama in 1983, one of only two Black women in her class.
Two years later, Angela picked up a recurring role on the long-running soap opera ‘Search for Tomorrow.’
Angela kept herself busy over the next few years with temporary TV roles and small-screen films,
but it would be heavy-hitting portrayals of the Black experience that would truly transform her into
Angela played Reva Styles, Tre’s mother in the 1991 drama ‘Boyz N The Hood’ set in South Central, LA.
This was not only a breakthrough role for Angela, it was also the beginning of her working relationship
with Laurence Fishburne. They play divorcees in this early ‘90s classic, but would play
tumultuous lovers 2 years later in Angela Bassett’s most memorable role to date.
♪What's love got to do, got to do with it♪
♪Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken♪
While filming ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It,’ Angela worked 14-hour days either in the gym
perfecting her Tina Turner physique or in rehearsal nailing the strenuous routines.
The deep physical and emotional work definitely paid off.
Comedy or Musical and the singular Academy Award nomination of her career, for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Few know that Angela actually beat out Halle Berry to portray the ‘Proud Mary’ singer,
but would make it up to her years later by turning down ‘Monster’s Ball,’ a film that won Halle an Oscar.
Angela also starred in Black canon romantic comedies such as 1995’s ‘Waiting to Exhale’
and 1998’s ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back,’
the latter of which she filmed while planning her wedding with fellow actor Courtney B. Vance.
Angela and Courtney actually attended Yale Drama together, while he was in the midst
of a long term relationship. They reconnected 14 years later, and although it wasn’t love at first sight,
their connection grew into a 20-year marriage.
They welcomed twins Slater and Bronwyn Vance in 2006 via surrogate.
In 1992, she portrayed Dr. Betty Shabazz in the Denzel Washington led ‘Malcolm X’
She embodied the titular heroine in 2002’s ‘The Rosa Parks Story,’
and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
She served up tough love as the mother of Christopher ‘Biggie’ Wallace in 2009’s ‘Notorious.’
It’s safe to say the box office loved Angela, but all the while she was pursuing
In the early days, Angela’s short-lived TV stints included ‘The Cosby Show’
and ‘The Jacksons: An American Dream,’ but a recurring role in the final two seasons
of the cult-favorite hospital drama ‘ER’ got her back in the swing of things.
She even voiced Former First Lady Michelle Obama on an episode of ‘The Simpsons,’
which no doubt prepped her to join the cast of Netflix’s raunchy animated comedy ‘BoJack Horseman.’
An appearance on Aziz Ansari’s ‘Master of None,’ another popular Netflix project,
snagged Angela a nomination at the 2017 Emmys for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
'You know exactly who I am and what I'm capable of.
Just like I know exactly what you are: Witch.'
Angela has joined the franchise for AHS:
earning two more Emmy nominations along the way.
Ryan Murphy also selected Angela as the leading lady of his Fox crime drama ‘9-1-1.’
As if she didn’t have enough on her plate, Angela Bassett was also
She waded through a few less than stellar, action-packed projects such as 2011’s ‘Green Lantern’
and 2013’s ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ to get to her role as Queen mother Ramonda in
Those awe-inspiring waterfall fight scenes came at a hefty price. After three, 10-hour days of filming
with the seering Atlanta sun reflecting off the water, many of the cast developed bloodshot, sunburned eyes.
David Kaluuya even had to be taken to the hospital.
'After that we all got, you know, shades... so he was like cut! You know, cut! Shades!
Umbrellas! They were reall strict about that after that because it was very dangerous.'
Angela also made a surprising, but memorable appearance
in the ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise for it’s 2018 installment.
And she showcases more of her voiceover work
as Shatter in the upcoming ‘Transformers’ spin-off ‘Bumblebee.’
Angela Bassett might not have an Oscar YET, but