An Inside Look At Angela Bassett's Life And Career

Across several generations, Angela Bassett continues to prove that she is one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. Superhero fans were excited to hear that Bassett was reprising her role as Ramonda in the 2022 sequel "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." At the same time, she played Athena on the Ryan Murphy procedural drama, "9-1-1." This wasn't the first time Bassett worked with Murphy, as she appeared in "American Horror Story" for multiple seasons and also made her directorial debut filming an episode, per Vanity Fair.

Throughout her career, Bassett interacted with iconic musicians like portraying Tina Turner and working with Whitney Houston in the 1995 romance film "Waiting to Exhale." Bassett remembered the late singer "was delightful and beautiful, always dancing and singing," per InStyle. Bassett inspired fans too, like after her lead role in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" from 1998. "I can't tell you how many times ladies have come up to me and said, 'I got my groove back.' They're embracing their sensuality and youth," Bassett told W Magazine.

During Bassett's long career in show business, she has experienced nearly every emotion, whether it was through exhilarating storytelling on screen or real life family tragedies. Even against multiple obstacles, Bassett follows some simple phrases to keep moving forward like "Don't be timid" and "Don't be hard on yourself. Be bold," she told Parade while adding that she plans to keep acting. This is an inside look at Angela Bassett's life and career.

Angela Bassett initially wanted to study theater at Yale, but her aunt considered that major a waste of time and convinced the young woman to focus on a perhaps more stable career choice. She earned her undergraduate degree in 1980 with a major in African American studies. Afterward, Bassett focused on her passions and received her Master's degree from Yale's School of Drama in 1983. "I was there for seven years, so I got to know the place," Bassett told InStyle. She recalled being surrounded by some of the most intelligent and talented classmates, which at times was intimidating. "I would literally stand in front of my mirror and give myself a good talking-to. I'd say, 'How long do you want to be overwhelmed? ... have your pity party, but then after that, wash your face, comb your hair, and go do what you need to do,'" she remembered thinking.

Over 30 years later in 2018, the ivy league school awarded Bassett with an honorary doctorate degree in fine arts. A few years after this recognition, Yale undergraduate students voted to give Bassett the Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award. She became the first Black recipient of the honor, which had previously been awarded to famous Yale alumni like George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and fellow actor Jodie Foster.

Bassett walked away from Yale with more than just knowledge. It's where she met her future husband Courtney B. Vance, Bassett told People.

"Black Panther" was a smash hit with audiences, earning over $700 million in the U.S. alone and almost $650 million internationally after opening, CNBC reported. As of 2022, the superhero film was the 14th highest grossing movie worldwide ever, per Box Office Mojo. Talking to Vanity Fair about the tremendous reception of the film, one of its stars, Angela Bassett said, "This has to open up success. I hope that this is a clarion call, that it's something that continues." She added, "It's an iconic film. It's such positive images."

For the 2022 sequel "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," Bassett told E! News about the cast was excited to return to work on the film. Of course, no one could forget the late Chadwick Boseman who would be missing as the titular character. "We still have a little, you know, we feel some kind of way in our heart, of course. So every day is just a testament and a love fest for our dear [Chadwick Boseman]," Bassett said about the film.

While Bassett wouldn't give up any plot secrets about the sequel, she said there was a stunt incident on set involving Letitia Wright who plays Shuri. Fortunately, Wright recovered after the accident. "Anything like that will shake you up, but she's just a little, slight, little petite thing. But she is fine and ready to go," Bassett revealed.

Angela Bassett made her debut in the "American Horror Story" anthology in 2013 as Marie Laveau in the third season "Coven." Her role as a voodoo queen meant that she needed to handle snakes, and while this must have been scary to many viewers, Bassett said it was easy at first. "I have never been around snakes before and I thought they were pretty quiet creatures," she recalled to People. That is, "until you actually held one and he's slithering up your body and into your ear and you're like that hiss is very loud ... and disconcerting."

Basset returned for the next season, "Freak Show," this time as a character who had a third breast. Bassett revealed the prosthetic piece was made of silicon and she "was just glad it wasn't on my face. I'm claustrophobic. It's amazing. The initial appliance was extremely heavy," she told Collider.

Even after she left the show and began working on one of Ryan Murphy's other products, "9-1-1," Bassett was still a huge fan of the horror series. "I have [Season 8] on my DVR, but I haven't seen any of it just yet," Bassett explained to The Hollywood Reporter. The actor also confessed she was envious that some of her co-stars were returning to "American Horror Story" without her. "I mean, come on. Where's Marie Laveau? I'm even a little bit in my feelings that Marie didn't come back," she said about her Season 3 character.

From a young age, Angela Bassett was passionate about acting. In high school, she was part of a class trip to Washington D.C., which included watching a performance of the play "Of Mice and Men." Actor, and the voice of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones was in the production, and Bassett vividly remembers, "I was the last person in the theater and I was glued to my seat and I was just weeping," she told People. She then went on to study theater at Yale University. "I mean, theater is my first love. I love the stage," she told InStyle. Bassett recalled a time when playwright John Guare saw her perform in his play "His Girl Friday" and praised her, saying, "'Angela, you're a theater animal. You command the stage and the audience.' It was the highest compliment."

Part of the reason Bassett loves to act is portraying emotions and relations that she sees in real life. "I'm so interested in human dynamics, how people get along, why they do what they do, what makes them tick, what makes them glow, what makes them sad," the actor told Parade. "Those are the things I find really interesting," she added. To prepare for roles and accurately portray these emotions, Bassett will sometimes sit with men and women that her roles are based on. For example, she met with female law enforcement officers to help with her character Athena on "9-1-1."

While "What's Love Got to Do with It" depicted a dramatized version of singer Tina Turner, lead actor Angela Bassett revealed that Turner actually helped with hair and makeup during production of the 1993 film. Towards the end of the shoot, Turner arrived on set, and with no assistance needed, "she did my makeup and hair in a quarter of the time that their stylists did — and it was just as fabulous," Bassett explained in an interview with InStyle. As enjoyable as the hair and makeup process sounded, Bassett explained that the role still stands out in her career as the most challenging. "Definitely nothing has been as difficult as Tina Turner. Nothing as difficult physically, emotionally, spiritually, vocally. Nothing, absolutely nothing," Bassett explained to People. "I learned how strong internally I could be. I ached from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. I lost my voice," she recounted to InStyle.

Bassett earned impressive accolades for her performance, including an Academy Award nomination for best actress. At the 1994 Golden Globes, Bassett won for best actress in a motion picture musical or comedy and had tears of joy during her acceptance speech. Many years later, a fan said they felt Bassett was robbed from receiving an Oscar for her performance in a segment on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen." Bassett playfully pounded her fist on a chair and said, "Yeah, me too."

Angela Bassett first met Courtney B. Vance while both were students at Yale, but it wasn't exactly love at first sight. At the time, he was in a relationship, but the two stayed friends until they romantically connected about 14 years later while both living in Los Angeles. "I was single, he was single. And I had such an appreciation for him over those years — of his consistency, how he treated other people, of what a supporter he is, what a connector of people and ideas he is, how passionate he is," Bassett told People. Since both Bassett and Courtney had been in serious relationships in the past, the couple wanted to try things a little differently together. This included abstaining from sex until marriage because, "I wanted to really see him for who he was, and I wanted him to see who I was," she told NPR.

The couple tied the knot in 1997 during an emotional ceremony, Vance remembered. The happy couple celebrated 23 years of marriage together in 2020, and Bassett credited the long-lasting connection with supporting each other while also allowing room for individual goals and dreams. "I think the important thing is that you gotta marry the right person. Make sure you're both looking in the same direction, basically," Bassett told People about the secret to a successful partnership.

Angela Bassett wanted to help others learn from her experience after her mother's death from heart disease. Her mom also lived with type 2 diabetes, and the family learned that these two diseases could be closely linked. In a combined campaign between the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association called "Know Diabetes by Heart," Bassett became a spokeswoman and used her influence to bring awareness to this specific health issue. "I wish my family had recognized the link earlier and that's why I want everyone living with type 2 diabetes to know about the connection to heart disease and stroke and know that they can do something about it," Bassett said in a statement, via NewsOne.

During an event for the American Heart Association, Bassett talked about why she is so passionate about helping others. "Losing my mother, the person who encouraged me to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming an actress, was a wake-up call to start talking about the risk of heart disease with my family members who also have type 2 diabetes, like my uncle Ralph," Bassett said. To further raise awareness for people with type 2 diabetes, Bassett became the spokeswoman for a campaign called "For Your SweetHeart." In a video for the campaign, she sat next to her uncle Ralph and urged people to talk with their health care providers, for themselves or loved ones, about the risk of heart disease for those with type 2 diabetes.