Actress Angela Bassett was born in New York City, and in 1980, she graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in African-American Studies. In 1983, she graduated with an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama. It didn't take long for her successful career as an actress to begin because by 1985, she had already made her first appearance in the hit TV sitcom The Cosby Show, and she made her second appearance on the show in 1988. Since then, she has starred in more than 100 films, her biggest yet being Black Panther where she plays the character of Queen Ramonda.
Angela's breakout movie was in the 1991 John Singleton-directed film Boyz n the Hood where she landed the role of Cuba Gooding Jr's character, Tre Styles. Just a year later in 1992, she starred as Betty Shabazz in Spike Lee's Malcolm X alongside Denzel Washington. And then, she followed up in the 1993 biopic starring as singer Tina Turner herself in What's Love Got to Do with It?. For that role, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.Amazingly, she even had time during that period in 1992 to star as Katherine Jackson in the television series, The Jacksons: An American Dream, and in 1998, she starred alongside actor Taye Diggs in another major film, Stella Got Her Groove Back, based on the best-selling book written by Terry McMillan.
Nowadays though, her role as Queen Ramonda is keeping her in the spotlight. In 2018, she played that character in Black Panther, again in 2019 Avengers: Endgame, and once again in 2022 in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022.
Throughout her career, Angela has been the recipient of numerous accolades including three Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award, seven NAACP Image Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has also received nominations for atleast one Academy Award and seven Primetime Emmy Awards.
It is expected that she will be awarded even more nominations for her ongoing role in the billion dollar Black Panther franchise.
Be sure to follow Angela Bassett on Instagram @IM.AngelaBassett
