Angela Bassett is an first rate black female doing super matters withinside the film industry. Born August 16, 1958, in New York City, this award-prevailing actress is cherished via way of means of hundreds of thousands throughout the globe. She is the daughter of Daniel Bassett and Betty Jane. She graduated from Jordan Park Elementary School, Disston Middle School, and Azalea Middle School. Her hobby in leisure become obtrusive from formative years as she and her sister placed on suggests or executed famous hits for his or her own circle of relatives.

She finished her excessive college at Boca Ciega High School, in which she become a cheerleader and a debate group member. In 1980, Bassett obtained a Bachelor of Arts diploma in African-American research from Yale University, and in 1983, she were given a Master of Fine Arts diploma from the identical college. After her college research, Bassett labored in a splendor salon as a receptionist and image researcher for “U.S. News & World Report.`” In 1985 she had her first theatre overall performance whilst she featured in “Black Girl” at Second Stage Theatre.
Bassett made her first movie look in 1985 for the film “Doubletake” in which she acted like a prostitute. In 1988 she moved to Los Angeles to stable greater performing jobs. She landed roles in movies like “Boyz withinside the Hood” and “Malcolm X.” In 1992, she acted as Katherine Jackson withinside the film “The Jacksons: American Dream,” primarily based totally at the own circle of relatives records of the well-known musician, Michael Jackson. In 1993, Bassett become an Academy Award nominee for exceptional actress for her function withinside the film “Whats Love Got to Do with It.” That identical yr she additionally were given nominated withinside the identical class for the Golden Globes Awards and he or she received the award.
In 2006, she acted as Tanya Anderson in “Akeelah and the Bee” because the mom of the movies lead, Akeelah, executed via way of means of Keke Palmer. In 2020, Bassett supplied her voice for Dorothea Williams`s individual withinside the lively film “Soul.” Bassett has completed pretty properly for herself in Hollywood and he or she has obtained the popularity she merits via nominations and awards.
Bassett married fellow actor Courtney B. Vance in 1997, who she had dated whilst she become at Yale University. The couple become blessed with twins named Bronwyn Golden and Slater Josiah from a surrogate mom.
Nickname | Angela |
Gender | Female |
Age | 64 years old (in 2023) |
Date of Birth | August 16, 1958 |
Full Name | Angela Evelyn Bassett |
Profession | Actress, Producer, Director |
Nationality | American |
Birthplace | New York, New York, United States |
Religion | Christianity |
Zodiac Sign | Leo |
Table of Contents
Angela Bassett Childhood and Early Life
- Angela Evelyn Bassett was born in New York City, United States, on August 16, 1958, to Betty Jane Bassett and Daniel Benjamin Bassett. Her mother was a nurse’s aide, and her father was an electrician.
- Her parents sent her to Winston-Salem to live with Aunt Golden, the sister of her father, when she was only ten months old. Her mother took her and her younger sister D’nette to St. Petersburg, Florida, to live with her grandparents after their separation.
- Angela sang in the youth choir and went to the church on Sundays. Her mother would frequently make her and her sister dance to popular “Motown” songs that she loved to listen to on the radio. Later, a neighbor helped them start a dance group.
- Her mother had dropped out of high school and didn’t want her kids to do the same, so she made sure her kids did well in school. Angela joined the “Upward Bound” program while attending “Boca Ciega High School.” She also joined the choir, debate team, student government, and drama club.
- In 1980, she graduated from “Yale University” with a bachelor’s degree in African-American studies. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama three years later.

Angela Bassett Films
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1986 | F/X | TV Reporter |
1990 | Kindergarten Cop | Stewardess |
1991 | Boyz n the Hood | Reva Devereaux |
1991 | City of Hope | Reesha |
1992 | Innocent Blood | U.S. Attorney Barbara Sinclair |
1992 | Critters 4 | Fran |
1992 | Malcolm X | Betty Shabazz |
1992 | Passion Fish | Dawn / Rhonda |
1993 | What’s Love Got to Do with It | Anna Mae Bullock / Tina Turner |
1995 | Panther | Betty Shabazz |
1995 | Strange Days | Lornette ‘Mace’ Mason |
1995 | Vampire in Brooklyn | Detective Rita Veder |
1995 | Waiting to Exhale | Bernadine ‘Bernie’ Harris |
1997 | Contact | Rachel Constantine |
1998 | How Stella Got Her Groove Back | Stella Payne |
1999 | Our Friend, Martin | Delia Woodman (voice) |
1999 | Music of the Heart | Principal Janet Williams |
2000 | Supernova | Dr. Kaela Evers |
2000 | Whispers: An Elephant’s Tale | Groove (voice) |
2000 | Boesman and Lena | Lena |
2001 | The Score | Diane |
2002 | Sunshine State | Desiree Stokes Perry |
2003 | Unchained Memories | Dorothy |
2003 | Masked and Anonymous | Mistress Jane Humphrey |
2004 | The Lazarus Child | Dr. Elizabeth Chase |
2004 | Mr. 3000 | Maureen ‘Mo’ Simmons |
2005 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith | Ms. April (voice) |
2006 | Akeelah and the Bee | Tanya Anderson |
2007 | Meet the Robinsons | Mildred (voice) |
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 | Claudine Watson |
2011 | Green Lantern | Amanda Waller |
2012 | This Means War | Sarah Collins |
2012 | I Ain’t Scared of You | Herself |
2013 | Olympus Has Fallen | Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs |
2013 | Black Nativity | Aretha Cobbs |
2014 | White Bird in a Blizzard | Dr. Willheima Thaler |
2015 | Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle | Dr. Kulinda (voice) |
2015 | Survivor | Ambassador Maureen Crane |
2015 | Chi-Raq | Miss Helen |
2016 | London Has Fallen | Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs |
2018 | Black Panther | Ramonda |
2018 | Mission: Impossible – Fallout | CIA Director Erika Sloane |
2018 | Bumblebee | Shatter (voice) |
2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Ramonda |
2019 | Otherhood | Carol Walker |
2020 | Soul | Dorothea Williams (voice) |
2021 | Tina | Herself |
2021 | Gunpowder Milkshake | Anna May |
2022 | Wendell & Wild | Sister Helley (voice) |
2022 | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Ramonda |
2023 | Damsel ![]() | Lady Bayford |
TBA | Wildwood ![]() | (voice) |
Angela Bassett Height, Weight & Physical Stats
Body Measurements | 34-25-37 inches |
Bodytype | Slim |
Height | 5 Feet 4 Inches (1.63 m) |
Weight | 52 Kg (115 lbs) |
Waist | 25 inches |
Hair Color | Dark Brown |
Eye Color | Hazel |
Shoe Size | 8 (US) |
Dress Size | 4 (US) |
Angela Bassett Education
Qualification: B.A. degree in African-American studies in 1980, Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama
School: Jordan Park Elementary School
Disston Middle School (seventh grade)
Azalea Middle School (eighth and ninth grade)
Boca Ciega High School
Also Read : David Warner Biography

Angela Bassett Career
- Angela Bassett started her acting career on stage under the direction of renowned stage director Lloyd Richards. She appeared in two August Wilson plays at the Yale Repertory Theatre: “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (1984) and “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” (1986). She was in J. E. Franklin’s “Black Girl” at “Second Stage Theatre” around the same time.
- She quickly moved on to movies and TV. She was initially cast, however, in roles that were stereotyped as being reserved for African-American women. In 1991, she was cast in John Singleton’s “Boyz n the Hood,” her first major role. She had received a recommendation for the role from her friend Laurence Fishburne, who also appeared in the film.
- Bassett, who is a huge “Jackson 5” fan, was given the opportunity to play “Katherine Jackson” in the miniseries “The Jacksons: 1992’s “An American Dream.” She went on to play “Betty Shabazz” in “Malcolm X,” a biopic that came out the same year. In 1995, she would reprise her role as “Betty Shabazz” in “Panther.”
- In the 1993 biographical film “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” she made her big break by landing the role of Tina Turner. After Bassett was hired to play the lead role, her friend Laurence Fishburne, who had previously declined the role of “Ike Turner” five times, played the character.
- She had major roles in the 1995 and 1998 films of the books by Terry McMillan, “Waiting to Exhale” and “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” She collaborated with Whitney Houston, one of the most highly regarded female artists of all time, in the first situation.
- Angela Bassett continued to appear in stage productions, most notably in 2005’s “His Girl Friday” alongside her husband, Courtney B. Vance. She appeared alongside Fishburne in another August Wilson play, “Fences,” the following year.
- She portrayed the main character in the biographical telefilm “The Rosa Parks Story” in 2002. She co-starred alongside Laurence Fishburne and Keke Palmer in the critically acclaimed 2006 film “Akeelah and the Bee.” The 2009 biopic “Notorious” featured her in a major role.
- Before being cast as “Dr. Cate Banfield” in the final season of the long-running medical drama “ER” in 2008, she made a number of guest appearances on television. She then appeared in five seasons of “American Horror Story,” for which she was nominated for numerous awards for her performance.
- In 2016, she played one of the main characters in the BBC Two miniseries “Close to the Enemy.” She then appeared in the superhero film “Black Panther” as “Ramonda,” the mother of the character with the same name. She would play “Ramonda” again in “Avengers: Endgame in 2019
- In the action-spy film “Mission: Impossible,” she co-starred with Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, and Alec Baldwin. Fallout: Impossible’ (2018).
- She also had a role as a voice actor in the 2018 movie Bumblebee. At the moment, she plays Sergeant Athena Grant in the Fox police procedural drama “9-1-1.” She was also in the movie “Gunpowder Milkshake.”
Angela Bassett SURPRISING FACTS
She is an Ivy League graduate
Bassett went to Yale University, where she studied African-American studies.
She set a Golden Globe record
Bassett is the first African-American woman to win “Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy” at the Golden Globe Awards.
She loves modeling
Bassett has modeled for brands like Amazon, Snapdeal, and Myntra.
She does not like her neck
Bassett has been quoted as saying: “We all have parts we do not find attractive; for me, I don’t like my neck.”
She’s a Yale honorary degree holder
Bassett received an honorary degree as a Doctor of Fine Arts from Yale University.
Also Read : Sunil Chhetri Biography
Angela Bassett Awards & Achievements
For her portrayal of ‘Tina Turner’ in the biopic ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It,’ Angela Bassett was nominated for the ‘Academy Award’ for ‘Best Actress.’ She has received a bunch of awards for this role, including the ‘Golden Globe Award’ for ‘Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.’
She has received five ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ nominations so far, with two back-to-back nominations in 2014 and 2015 for her role in the television series ‘American Horror Story.’ She also received two ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ nominations for ‘Ruby’s Bucket of Blood’ and ‘Betty and Coretta.’
Angela Bassett Family & Relatives
Father: Daniel Benjamin Bassett
Mother: Betty Jane Bassett
Sister: D’nette Bassett
Marital Status: Married
Husband: Courtney B. Vance (m. 1997)
No. of Children: 2
Son: Slater Vance
Daughter: Bronwyn Vance
Past Relationships: Mark Jenkins, American Actor
Courtney B. Vance, American Actor
Net Worth
American actress, director, producer, and activist Angela Bassett has an estimated net worth of $30 million dollars, as of 2023.
Also Read
- Jessica Burciaga Biography, Age, Wiki, Career, Height, Weight And Photos
- Ashley Lowe Biography, Wiki, Height, Weight, Boyfreind And Photos
- Cassie Keller Biography, Age, Height, Family, Boyfreind And Wiki
- Mia Cheers Biography, Wiki, Age, Height, Weight, Photos And More
- Lily Gladstone Biography, Age, Height, Career, Photos And Wiki