She’s also received eight Emmy nominations and won two Golden Globes.
In 2024, she finally received an Academy Award albeit an honorary one.
“As long as I can remember my lines and hit my mark.”
She’s enjoyed an extraordinary run, and it’s far from over.
Relive her amazing journey by reading on to experience the stunning transformation of Angela Bassett.
As a teenager, she embraced opportunities to perform at talent shows.
Because she couldn’t sing well or dance, she recited poetry.
“And the audience just stood up and clapped, and my knees got very weak.
She chose administrative science but hated it.
Realizing she was on the verge of failing a course, she was hit by a realization.
“From that point on, work became a joy.”
Their romance, however, had to wait.
Vance made an impression on Bassett, but it wasn’t mutual.
“And I was single, he was single,” she recalled for People.
“Somehow, we ended up going on a date,” Vance said on “Oprah.”
Luckily, they tried again.
Their attraction sparked on their second date when Vance took Bassett to a driving range to hit golf balls.
They tied the knot in 1997, and have remained married ever since.
Success did not come overnight.
She thought her ship had come in when she was cast in acommercialfor KFC.
“I was happy ‘I like Kentucky Fried Chicken!
until about the fourth hour,” she said.
“Then I hated it.”
To pay the rent, she worked as a receptionist for a hair salon.
She ended up quitting when it became apparent her restrictive schedule didn’t allow her enough time to audition.
The film was a critical and commercial hit, and the role earned Bassett positive attention and larger roles.
(Interestingly, Bassett played Shabazz again in a different film, 1995’s “Panther.")
“Then boom, to get Katherine Jackson,” she marveled.
“I think I have been incredibly blessed and it is probably just all downhill from here.”
Of course, that wasn’t the case.
Her next role would catapult her to a level of stardom she’d yet to experience.
“So when Rubin made just one step toward me, I invested so much emotion in it.
I knew if I could pull it off, it was going to mean a lot.”
Playing a public figure as iconic as Turner was a double-edged sword.
No, not at all,” she toldRefinery29.
“I thought, ‘Well, I could fail miserably and have that narrative.’
Fortunately, it turned out the way it turned out.”
Bassett received an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe.
Suddenly, she’d gone from up-and-coming actor to movie star.
she told theChicago Tribune.
And that’s just what happened.
I think I need about six months off, Bassett told theOrlando Sentinelin 1995.
It’s difficult because I tend to stay in character the whole time I do a movie.
And that’s draining.
“If was difficult, it was challenging.
It was not happening,” Bassett admitted while appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
In 2006, the couple welcomed fraternal twins,daughter Bronwyn Golden and son Slater Josiah.
“Our mantra was, ‘Somebody’s going to be home.’
“They’ll see that hard work pays off,” she explained.
“And they’ll be about that life for themselves.”
She starred opposite Samuel L. Jackson in “The Mountaintop,” a drama written by Katori Hall.
“Theater is my first love.
True to her word, Bassett remained a member of the anthology series’ repertory company.
“When you’re working with an ensemble, you’re all in it together, you know?”
“One that I could stay up all night just thinking about, caring for, and nurturing.
I’ve had opportunities in the past, but nothing that just grabbed me like this did.”
Bassett subsequently directed an episode of “American Horror Story” at the request of series co-creator Ryan Murphy.
As she admitted in an interview withDeadline, the role wasn’t what she’d initially expected.
These cop stereotypes,” she said.
That wasn’t the only appeal.
I had faith that it would be a good ride to take.”
“I love the work that I do here,” she toldPeopleof “9-1-1.”
“It’s very satisfying.”
