Angela Bassett (born
August 16,
1958 in New
York City) is an African-American film actress.
Biography
Captivating, gifted, and sensational, Angela Bassett's presence has been felt in
theaters, stage and television screens throughout the world. Born in New York
City, and then relocating to St. Petersburg, Florida as a child. Angela and her sister D'nette were raised by their
social worker mother, Betty. Stressing the importance of an education by their
mother, Angela earned an academic scholarship to Yale University. She received
her B.A. in African-American studies from Yale in 1980. In 1983, she earned a
Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale School of Drama It was at Yale that
Bassett met her husband Courtney B. Vance a 1986 graduate of the Drama school.
Soon after graduating from Yale, Bassett made her first appearance on
television as a prostitute in the TV movie Doubletake (1985). However, she made
her official film debut as a news reporter in the film F/X (1986). Bassett soon
gained recognition in the highly acclaimed, but controversial, films Boyz n the
Hood (1991) and Malcolm X (1992). It wasn't until 1993 that she earned a Golden
Globe and a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Tina
Turner in the film What's Love Got to Do with It?. Angela Bassett's been married to actor
Courtney B. Vance since 1997. In December 2005, the entertainment program Extra
TV reported that the couple are expecting their first children, a set of twins,
carried by a surrogate mother.
Film List for Angela Bassett
- F/X (1986)
- Kindergarten Cop (1990)
- Boyz n the Hood (1991)
- City of Hope (1991)
- Passion Fish (1992)
- Innocent Blood (1992)
- Malcolm X (1992)
- What's Love Got to Do with It? (1993)
- Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
- Panther (1995)
- Strange Days (1995)
- Waiting to Exhale (1995)
- Contact (1997)
- Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (1997) (documentary)
- How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
- Music of the Heart (1999)
- Supernova (2000)
- Whispers: An Elephant's Tale (2000) (voice)
- Boesman and Lena (2000)
- The Score (2001)
- Sunshine State (2002)
- The Rosa Parks Story (2002)
- Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives (2003)
(documentary) (narrator)
- Masked and Anonymous (2003)
- The Lazarus Child (2004)
- Mr. 3000 (2004)
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) (voice only)
- Akeelah and the Bee (2006) (currently in post-production)
Websites for Angela Bassett
This Angela Bassett Biography Page is Copyright © 2004 - 2006 Chuck Ayoub
