Angela Bassett
Born Angela Evelyn Bassett on
Aug. 16, 1958
in New York, NY
Angela Bassett had a long career in theater before she gained widespread attention playing Tina Turner in the 1993 biopic “What’s Love Got to Do With It." That role earned Bassett a Golden Globe (the first African American to win one for best actress) and an Academy Award nomination. It also made Bassett a marquee name, with high-profile starring roles in the film adaptations of Terry McMillan’s bestsellers “Waiting to Exhale” and “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” Throughout her career she has played other notable real-life figures including Betty Shabazz in “Malcolm X,” Rosa Parks in “The Rosa Parks Story” and Katherine Jackson (Michael’s mother) in “The Jacksons: An American Dream.” The actress attended Yale University for her undergraduate degree in African American studies and returned for her MFA at the Yale School of Drama. It was during her graduate studies that she met her future husband, actor Courtney B. Vance. In addition to her film and stage work, Bassett occasionally makes TV appearances. She appeared alongside her real-life husband in the final season of the long-running TV drama “ER” in 2008. She also provided the voice of Michelle Obama on “The Simpsons.” Bassett and Vance had their first children, fraternal twins, in 2006.
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Academy Awards
| Year | Category | Work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Best Actress | What's Love Got to Do With It? | Nomination |
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