Angela Bassett Biography

Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She has become well known for her biographical film roles portraying real-life women in African-American culture, including Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as Betty Shabazz in Malcolm X and Panther, Rosa Parks in The Rosa Parks Story, Katherine Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream, and Voletta Wallace in Notorious.

Early life

Bassett was born in Harlem, New York on August 16, 1958, the daughter of Betty Jane and Daniel Benjamin Bassett. After her parents' separation, she relocated from Winston Salem, North Carolina to St. Petersburg, Florida, where she and her sister D'nette were raised by their social worker/civil servant mother. As her interest in entertainment developed, Angela and her sister would often put on shows, reading poems or performing popular music for their family. At Boca Ciega High School, Bassett was a cheerleader and a member of the Upward Bound college prep program, the debate team, student government, drama club and choir.

Bassett attended Yale University and received her B.A. degree in African-American studies in 1980. In 1983, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama. At Yale, Bassett met her future husband Courtney B. Vance, a 1986 graduate of the drama school. After graduation, Bassett worked as a receptionist for a beauty salon and as a photo researcher.

Bassett soon looked for acting work in the New York theater. One of her first New York performances came in 1985 when she appeared in J. E. Franklin's Black Girl at Second Stage Theatre. She appeared in two August Wilson plays at the Yale Repertory Theatre under the direction of her long-time instructor Lloyd Richards. The Wilson plays featuring Bassett were Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984) and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1986). In 2006, she had the opportunity to work on the Wilson canon again, starring in Fences alongside longtime collaborator Laurence Fishburne at the Pasadena Playhouse in California.

Career

Television and film career

In 1985, Bassett made her first television appearance as a prostitute in the TV movie Doubletake. However, she made her official film debut as a news reporter in F/X (1986). Bassett moved to Los Angeles and 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.

In 1992, Bassett played Katherine Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream. 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 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 Strange Days, Bassett played Lornette "Mace" Mason, a chauffeur and bodyguard. In Vampire in Brooklyn, she played Rita Veder, a tortured cop with a dark secret. 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 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. In 1999, Bassett starred in Music of the Heart, once collaborating with the horror icon Wes Craven. 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.

In 2003, she read from the WPA slave narratives in Unchained Memories. In the 1930s, about 100,000 former slaves were still living during the Great Depression, of which 2,300 were interviewed part of the Federal Writers' Project. The transcripts of the Slave Narratives collection of the Library of Congress is a record of slavery, bondage and misery.

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 2010, Bassett lent her voice to portray First Lady Michelle Obama on an episode of The Simpsons entitled "Stealing First Base". Bassett was also cast in the superhero film Green Lantern, released in 2011, as notable DC Comics character Amanda Waller.

In 2010, Deadline.com reported that Bassett would have a role in One Police Plaza.

In 2011, Bassett co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson in the play The Mountaintop a fictionalized depiction of the night before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King (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 Lawrence Olivier Award for Best New Play. The production opened on Broadway on October 13, 2011. Bassett recently appeared as Secret Service director Lynne Jacobs in the action thriller Olympus Has Fallen, released in March 22, 2013.

Personal life

Bassett married actor Courtney B. Vance in 1997. 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 children " son Slater Josiah and daughter Bronwyn Golden - were born on January 27, 2006.

Bassett is an avid supporter of programs for the Arts, especially for youth. She annually attends events for children with diabetes and those in foster homes. She is an active Ambassador of UNICEF for the USA. Bassett is a big supporter of the Royal Theater Boys & Girls Club in her hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida. The Club is one of the first all performing arts Boys & Girls Clubs in the country.

She is represented by the Executive Speakers Bureau of Memphis.

Bassett was initiated as an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. on July 13, 2013.

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1994	Academy Award	Best Actress	What's Love Got to Do with It
1994	Chicago Film Critics Association Award	Best Actress	What's Love Go to Do with It
1994	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress " Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	What's Love Got to Do with It
1994	MTV Movie Award	Best Female Performance	What's Love Got to Do with It
1995	Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Malcolm X
1995	Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture	What's Love Got to Do with It
1996	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series	Storytime
1996	Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture	Waiting to Exhale
1998	Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Contact
1996	Saturn Award	Best Actress	Strange Days
1999	Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	How Stella Got Her Groove Back
2000	Black Reel Award	Best Supporting Actress	Music of the Heart
2000	Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Music of the Heart
2001	BET Award	Best Actress	Boesman and Lena
2001	Black Reel Award	Best Actress	Boesman and Lena
2001	Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture	Boesman and Lena
2002	BET Award	Best Actress	The Rosa Parks Story
2002	BET Award	Best Actress	The Score
2002	Black Reel Award	Best Actress on Television	Ruby's Bucket of Blood
2002	Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture	The Score
2002	Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film	Ruby's Bucket of Blood
2002	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	The Rosa Parks Story
2002	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	Ruby's Bucket of Blood
2003	Black Reel Award	Best Actress on Television	The Rosa Parks Story
2003	Black Reel Award	Best Actress	The Sunshine State
2003	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Children's Special	Our America
2003	Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film	The Rosa Parks Story
2003	Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture	The Sunshine State
2005	BET Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Theatrical Film	Mr. 3000
2005	Black Reel Award	Best Actress	Mr. 3000
2005	Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture	Mr. 3000
2006	Black Movie Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress	Akeelah and the Bee
2007	BET Award	Best Actress	Akeelah and the Bee
2007	Black Reel Award	Best Supporting Actress	Akeelah and the Bee
2007	Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Akeelah and the Bee
2008	BET Award	Best Actress	Meet the Browns
2009	BET Award	Best Actress	ER
2009	BET Award	Best Actress	Notorious
2009	Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture	Meet the Browns
2009	Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	ER
2012	BET Award	Best Actress	Jumping the Broom
2012	Black Reel Award	Best Supporting Actress	Jumping the Broom

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1986	F/X	TV Reporter
1990	Kindergarten Cop	Stewardess
1991	Critters 4	Fran	Released Straight-to-Video
1991	Boyz n the Hood	Reva Devereaux
1991	City of Hope	Reesha
1992	Passion Fish	Dawn/Rhonda
1992	Innocent Blood	U.S. Attorney Sinclair
1992	Malcolm X	Betty Shabazz
1993	What's Love Got to Do with It	Anna Mae Bullock/Tina Turner
1995	Vampire in Brooklyn	Det. Rita Veder
1995	Panther	Betty Shabazz
1995	Strange Days	Lornette 'Mace' Mason
1995	Waiting to Exhale	Bernadine 'Bernie' Harris
1997	Contact	Rachel Constantine
1998	How Stella Got Her Groove Back	Stella
1999	Our Friend, Martin	Miles' Mom	Voice role, released Straight-to-Video
1999	Music of the Heart	Principal Janet Williams
2000	Supernova	Dr. Kaela Evers
2000	Whispers: An Elephant's Tale	Groove	Voice Role
2000	Boesman and Lena	Lena
2001	'	Diane
2002	Sunshine State	Desiree Stokes Perry
2002	The Rosa Parks Story	Rosa Parks	Broadcast by CBS on February 24, 2002
2003	Unchained Memories	Reader
2003	Masked and Anonymous	Mistress
2004	'	Dr. Elizabeth Chase
2004	Mr. 3000	Maureen 'Mo' Simmons
2005	Mr. & Mrs. Smith	Mr. Smith's Boss	Uncredited voice role
2006	Akeelah and the Bee	Tanya Anderson
2007	Meet the Robinsons	Mildred	Voice role
2008	Gospel Hill	Sarah Malcolm
2008	Of Boys and Men	Rieta Cole
2008	Meet the Browns	Brenda Brown
2008	Nothing But the Truth	Bonnie Benjamin
2009	Notorious	Voletta Wallace
2011	Jumping the Broom	Mrs. Watson
2011	Green Lantern	Amanda Waller
2012	This Means War	Collins
2012	I Ain't Scared Of You	Herself
2013	Olympus Has Fallen	Lynne Jacobs
2013	Black Nativity		Post-production

Television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	Doubletake	Prostitute at Headquarters	CBS TV-Movie
1985	Spenser: For Hire	Joe's Daughter	Episode: "The Choice"
1985, 1988	'	Mrs. Mitchell Paula	Episode: "Mr. Quiet" Episode: "Bookworm"
1986	Liberty	Linda Thornton	NBC TV-Movie
1987	Ryan's Hope	Leonie Peach
1989	'	Bailey Webster	Episodes: "The Master's Mirror" and "Never My Love"
1989	Tour of Duty	Lt. Camilla Patterson	Episodes: "Hard Stripe" and "The Volunteer"
1989	227	Amy Burnett	Episode: "A Pampered Tale"
1989	Thirtysomething	Kate Harriton	Episode: "Legacy"
1990	Family of Spies	Bev Andress	CBS TV-Movie
1990	Alien Nation	Renee Longstreet	Episode: "Eyewitness News"
1990	Challenger	Cheryl McNair	ABC TV-Movie
1990	Equal Justice	Janet Fields	Episode: "Goodbye, Judge Green"
1990	In the Best Interest of the Child	Lori	CBS TV-Movie
1990	Perry Mason: In the Case of the Silenced Singer	Carla Peters	NBC TV-Movie
1991	Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story	Pat	NBC TV-Movie
1991	'	Linda Lake	Episode: "Beat the Clock"
1991	Fire: Trapped on the 37th Floor	Allison	ABC TV-Movie
1991	Stat	Dr. Willie Burns	Episode: "Ladyfinger"
1991	'	Lt. Phoebe Jeter	ABC TV-Movie
1991	Locked Up: A Mother's Rage	Willie	TV-Movie
1991	One Special Victory	Lois	NBC TV-Movie
1992	Nightmare Cafe	Evelyn	Episode: "Sanctuary for a Child"
1992	'	Katherine Jackson	ABC Miniseries
1995	Get Smart	Uncredited role as Runway Model	Episode: "Pilot"
2001	Ruby's Bucket of Blood	Ruby Delacroix	Showtime TV-Movie
2002	'	Rosa Parks	CBS TV-Movie
2003	Freedom: A History of Us	Sheyann Webb Melba Pattillo	PBS Miniseries Episodes: "Marching to Freedom Land" and "Let Freedom Ring"
2003	The Bernie Mac Show	Herself	Episode: Laughing Matters
2005	Alias	CIA Director Hayden Chase	Episodes: "Authorized Personnel Only", "The Index", "The Descent" and "Search And Rescue"
2006	Time Bomb	Jill Greco	CBS TV-Movie
2008" 2009	ER	Dr. Cate Banfield
2010	'	First Lady Michelle Obama	Episode: Stealing First Base (voice)
2013	Betty & Coretta	Coretta Scott King
2013	American Horror Story: Coven	Marie Laveau