89 Facts About Angela Bassett

1.

Angela Evelyn Bassett was born on August 16,1958 and is an American actress.

2.

Angela Bassett played Queen Ramonda in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Black Panther, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

3.

On television, Angela Bassett has starred as Katherine Jackson in the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream.

4.

Angela Bassett was born in New York City, to Betty Jane, a social worker and civil servant, and Daniel Benjamin Angela Bassett, a preacher's son.

5.

Ten months after Angela Bassett was born, her mother became pregnant and had a second child, Angela Bassett's sister D'nette.

6.

Angela Bassett said the pregnancy "only made things harder", leading her parents to send her to her father's sister, Golden, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

7.

At the age of four, Angela Bassett was picked up by her mother after her parents divorced, and then relocated with her sister to St Petersburg, Florida.

8.

Angela Bassett did not see her father again for several years, until she attended her grandmother's funeral.

9.

Angela Bassett's mother became more involved in her daughter's grades and told her and her sister the pair were going to college.

10.

At Boca Ciega High School, Angela Bassett was a cheerleader and a member of the Upward Bound college prep program, the debate team, student government, drama club and choir.

11.

Angela Bassett says she and the other participants did not see themselves as underprivileged.

12.

Angela Bassett studied at Yale University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies in 1980.

13.

At Yale, Bassett met her future husband Courtney B Vance, a 1986 graduate of the drama school.

14.

Angela Bassett soon looked for acting work in the New York theater.

15.

The Wilson plays featuring Angela Bassett were Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and Joe Turner's Come and Gone.

16.

In 1985, Angela Bassett made her first television appearance, as a prostitute in the made-for-TV movie Doubletake.

17.

Angela Bassett moved to Los Angeles in 1988 for more acting jobs, with early guest spots on A Man Called Hawk and 227.

18.

Angela Bassett won the lead role after beating out Halle Berry and Robin Givens, but she had only one month to prepare before filming began.

19.

Angela Bassett met Tina Turner twice, who advised her on details of her interpretation, from wigs and outfits to dancing styles.

20.

Angela Bassett earned an Academy Award nomination but lost to Holly Hunter for The Piano.

21.

Angela Bassett starred in three movies in 1995, which were released with varied reactions from critics: Vampire in Brooklyn, Strange Days, and Waiting to Exhale.

22.

In Strange Days, Angela Bassett played Lornette "Mace" Mason, a chauffeur and bodyguard.

23.

Angela Bassett was excited to work with Eddie Murphy in Vampire in Brooklyn, as well as director Wes Craven.

24.

Angela Bassett described the then-recently filmed party scene and her character in Waiting to Exhale to the Orlando Sentinel.

25.

Also in 1998, Angela Bassett starred in How Stella Got Her Groove Back, collaborating with McMillan.

26.

Angela Bassett played Stella, a 40-year-old American professional woman who falls in love with a 20-year-old Jamaican man.

27.

In 1999, Angela Bassett starred in Music of the Heart, collaborating with horror icon Wes Craven.

28.

The first film Angela Bassett appeared in that year was Supernova, where she played a medical officer.

29.

Angela Bassett's character was in a relationship with Robert De Niro's.

30.

Angela Bassett was then telephoned by director Frank Oz, who told her Robert De Niro would "like to meet with you".

31.

Angela Bassett met with De Niro and later realized the conversation was meant to break the ice before they started filming.

32.

Laura Fries of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Angela Bassett "takes her physical strength and turns it inward to portray Parks" and expressed her belief that "lesser hands" would allow for misinterpretation or gross underplay of Parks' personality.

33.

Mr 3000 was a comedy in which Angela Bassett costarred with Bernie Mac.

34.

Angela Bassett appeared in the television film Time Bomb the same year.

35.

Angela Bassett's role was seen as just an "extended cameo" by Brian Lowry of Variety.

36.

Angela Bassett provided her voice for the 2007 film Meet the Robinsons.

37.

Angela Bassett next appeared in Of Boys and Men, portraying Rieta Cole, the matriarch of a Chicago family who is killed in an accident in the beginning of the film and is seen through flashbacks for the remainder of the film.

38.

Angela Bassett joined the regular cast of ER for the show's final season.

39.

Angela Bassett portrayed Dr Catherine Banfield, an exacting Chief of the ER who was working to recover from the death of a son and to bring another child into her family.

40.

Angela Bassett said she jumped at the chance to be part of the film after reading the script.

41.

In 2010, Angela Bassett lent her voice to portray First Lady Michelle Obama on an episode of The Simpsons titled "Stealing First Base".

42.

Angela Bassett was seen as a "terrific" fill in for Obama.

43.

Angela Bassett was cast in the superhero film Green Lantern, released in 2011, as notable DC Comics character Amanda Waller.

44.

Angela Bassett said working on the film was "a lot of fun" and that she enjoyed being a part of it.

45.

Angela Bassett called it her first time doing "this kind of movie" but expressed interest in seeing what her scenes looked like.

46.

In 2010, Deadline Hollywood reported that Angela Bassett would have a role in One Police Plaza.

47.

In 2011, Bassett co-starred with Samuel L Jackson in the play The Mountaintop a fictionalized depiction of the night before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

48.

In March 2011, it was reported that Angela Bassett had signed up for a lead role in the ABC pilot Identity.

49.

Angela Bassett appeared in the 2011 film Jumping the Broom, playing the matriarch of a wealthy family.

50.

Angela Bassett had a good feeling about the film from "the start", and believed her character had a "real presence" in the film and felt she was active in the plot.

51.

Angela Bassett was featured in the 2012 film This Means War, having been known to be attached to the film since two years prior.

52.

Angela Bassett appeared as herself in I Ain't Scared Of You.

53.

Angela Bassett portrayed Coretta Scott King in the television film Betty and Coretta, which aired on February 2,2013, continuing her trend of portraying real women.

54.

Angela Bassett was surprised to learn after researching that Coretta initially refused Martin Luther King Jr.

55.

Angela Bassett appeared as Secret Service director Lynne Jacobs in the action thriller Olympus Has Fallen, released on March 22,2013.

56.

Angela Bassett was reported to have a role in the film in June 2012, the month before filming began.

57.

Angela Bassett called the decision to have a female African-American Secret Service director "a bold casting choice".

58.

Angela Bassett described working with Morgan Freeman as wonderful, but she admitted to being intimidated by him.

59.

Angela Bassett was impressed with the preparation of director Antoine Fuqua, who she said "was just preparation to the hilt" and expressed her interest in working with him again.

60.

Angela Bassett sang and it was seen as contributing to the film's "blissful unreality".

61.

Angela Bassett was asked by the film's director, Kasi Lemmons, if she could sing and Bassett admitted to lying to get the role.

62.

In 2013, Angela Bassett appeared on FX TV show American Horror Story: Coven as Marie Laveau, a voodoo witch.

63.

Angela Bassett's agent approached Ryan Murphy about her having a role in the series and he told the agent that she was the person he had in mind for Marie Laveau.

64.

Angela Bassett watched the previous seasons of the series before meeting with Murphy and found the writing "wonderful" and the characters "so realized".

65.

Angela Bassett's performance earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

66.

Angela Bassett returned to the show for its fourth season American Horror Story: Freak Show, playing Desiree Dupree, a three-breasted woman.

67.

Angela Bassett received another nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

68.

Angela Bassett had previously expressed interest in directing the year before.

69.

Angela Bassett had previously worked with her on Betty and Coretta and was reported to attend the Riverside Church memorial for Dee on September 20,2014.

70.

In March 2016, Angela Bassett appeared in London Has Fallen, reprising her role as Lynne Jacobs.

71.

Angela Bassett noted it was "the very first sequel I've ever done" and that she had been excited at the prospect of another film after the initial success of Olympus Has Fallen.

72.

Angela Bassett directed its sixth episode, which aired on October 19,2016.

73.

In March 2017, Angela Bassett appeared in "Ache", an episode of the television series Underground.

74.

In May 2017, Angela Bassett appeared in an episode of Master of None, portraying major character Denise's mother Catherine.

75.

Lena Waithe wanted Angela Bassett after being impressed by her previous work though was convinced she would turn down the role and said Angela Bassett's inclusion influenced the series drastically with "another layer" of tension.

76.

In February 2018, Angela Bassett starred in the acclaimed Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Black Panther as Queen Ramonda, mother of the titular character; she briefly reprised the role the following year in Avengers: Endgame.

77.

Angela Bassett provided the voice of Dorothea Williams in the Pixar animated film Soul, which was released on Disney+ on December 25,2020.

78.

Angela Bassett became narrator of the Magic Kingdom nighttime spectacular Disney Enchantment that premiered on October 1,2021.

79.

Angela Bassett was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category, which made her the first person in a Marvel Studios movie to be nominated for an Academy Award in any acting category.

80.

Angela Bassett is set to appear alongside Millie Bobby Brown in the Netflix film Damsel.

81.

Angela Bassett has portrayed real life African-American women who are usually strong and intelligent.

82.

Angela Bassett is a supporter of programs for the arts, especially for youth.

83.

Angela Bassett annually attends events for children with diabetes and those in foster homes.

84.

Angela Bassett is an active Ambassador of UNICEF for the United States and a member of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ.

85.

Angela Bassett is represented by the Executive Speakers Bureau of Memphis, Tennessee.

86.

In early 2007, Angela Bassett donated $2,300 to the presidential primary campaign of Barack Obama.

87.

Angela Bassett attended the second inauguration of Barack Obama on January 21,2013.

88.

Angela Bassett was initiated as an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority on July 13,2013.

89.

Angela Bassett is Pentecostal Evangelical Christian and a member of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ, located in Los Angeles.