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Angela Bassett extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett in the 2007 Red Dress Collection for The Heart Truth campaign
Born	Angela Evelyn Bassett August 16, 1958 (1958-08-16) (age 50) Harlem, New York, USA
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1976–2009
Spouse(s)	Courtney B. Vance (1997-present)

Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an African American actress. She has become well-known for her biographical film roles portraying women in African American culture, perhaps most prominently as singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Television and film career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 External links

Early life

Bassett was born in New York City and relocated to St. Petersburg, Florida as a child. She and her sister D'nette were raised by their social worker/civil servant mother, Betty.¹² As her interest in entertainment developed, she and her sister would often put on shows, reading poems or performing popular music for their family. At Boca Ciega High School, Bassett was a member of the debate team, student government, drama club, choir, and was a cheerleader.

Bassett attended Yale University and received her B.A. in African-American studies in 1980. In 1983, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale School of Drama. At Yale, Bassett met her future husband Courtney B. Vance, a 1986 graduate of the drama school. After graduation, Bassett worked as a receptionist for a beauty salon and as a photo researcher.

Bassett soon looked for acting work in the New York theater. One of her first New York performances came in 1985 when she appeared in J. E. Franklin's Black Girl at Second Stage Theatre. She appeared in two August Wilson plays at the Yale Repertory Theatre under the direction of her long-time instructor Lloyd Richards. The Wilson plays featuring Bassett were Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984) and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1986). In 2006, she had the opportunity to work on the Wilson canon again, starring in Fences (play) alongside longtime collaborator Laurence Fishburne at the Pasadena Playhouse in California.

Television and film career

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In 1985, Bassett made her first television appearance as a prostitute in the TV movie Doubletake (1985). However, she made her official film debut as a news reporter in F/X (1986). Bassett moved to Los Angeles and gained recognition in the films Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Malcolm X (1992). For her portrayal of Betty Shabazz, she earned an Image Award.

In 1992 Bassett played Katherine Jackson (Michael Jackson's mother) in the Mini Series American Dream: The Jacksons. Later in 1992, Bassett won the role of Tina Turner in the feature film What's Love Got to Do with It. The film was released in 1993. Bassett earned a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Turner. She was the first African-American to win the Best Actress Golden Globe for a musical or comedy.

Bassett starred in three movies in 1995 that were released with varied reactions from critics; Vampire in Brooklyn, Strange Days, and Waiting to Exhale (where she worked with author Terry McMillan). In Strange Days, Bassett plays Lornette "Mace" Mason, a chauffeur and bodyguard. Bernadine, Bassett's character in Waiting to Exhale, was betrayed by her husband and in revenge she set fire to his entire wardrobe and vehicle, then sold what was left for one dollar.

In 1998, Bassett starred in the film How Stella Got Her Groove Back, once again collaborating with McMillan. She played Stella, a 40-year-old professional woman who falls in love with a 20-year-old Jamaican man.

On April 28, 2008, it was announced that Bassett would join the regular cast of the medical drama series ER for the show's final season. She now portrays Dr. Catherine Banfield who replaces Kari Matchett's outgoing character Dr. Skye Wexler as Chief of the ER. Husband Courtney Vance also plays her television husband on ER as Russell Banfield.

Personal life

Bassett is a private person, often choosing not to discuss her personal life with the public. She is also a religious person who is of the Christian faith and attends LA's West Angeles Church of God in Christ along with fellow actor Denzel Washington. Bassett told the Los Angeles Times: "Loving God is like my being black. I just am. [No one says] 'You know what? I'm gonna be blacker today!' It's my culture. It's not something I put on or take off or show more. You just communicate that in the way you live your life."

Bassett has been married to actor Courtney B. Vance since 1997. In the summer of 2005, they starred together in a production of the play His Girl Friday at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The couple's children, son Slater Josiah and daughter Bronwyn Golden, were born on January 27, 2006. During and interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the couple confirmed that the twins were born via a surrogate mother after several years of unsuccessful attempts at conceiving naturally.

Bassett is an avid supporter of programs for the Arts, especially for youth. She annually attends events for children with diabetes and in foster homes, and she is an active Ambassador of UNICEF. Bassett is a big supporter of the Royal Theater Boys & Girls Club in her hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida. The Club is one of the first all performing arts Boys & Girls Clubs in the country.

Bassett is currently a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States.

Bassett is represented by the Executive Speakers Bureau of Memphis, Tennessee, and receives between $20,000-$30,000 per appearance.³

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1986	F/X	TV Reporter
1990	Kindergarten Cop	Stewardess
1991	Critters 4	Fran	Released Straight-to-Video
	Boyz n the Hood	Reva Devereaux
	City of Hope	Reesha
1992	Passion Fish	Dawn/Rhonda
	Innocent Blood	U.S. Attorney Sinclair
	Malcolm X	Betty Shabazz
"Jacksons: An American Dream"	[[Katie Jackson
1993	What's Love Got to Do with It	Anna Mae Bullock/Tina Turner	Academy Award Nomination for Best Actress
1995	Vampire in Brooklyn	Det. Rita Veder
	Panther	Betty Shabazz
	Strange Days	Lornette 'Mace' Mason
	Waiting to Exhale	Bernadine 'Bernie' Harris
1997	Contact	Rachel Constantine
1998	How Stella Got Her Groove Back	Stella
1999	Our Friend, Martin	Miles' Mom	Voice Role Released Straight-to-Video
	Music of the Heart	Principal Janet Williams
2000	Supernova	Dr. Kaela Evers
	Whispers: An Elephant's Tale	Groove	Voice Role
	Boesman and Lena	Lena
2001	The Score	Diane
2002	Sunshine State	Desiree Stokes Perry
2003	Masked and Anonymous	Mistress
2004	The Lazarus Child	Dr. Elizabeth Chase
	Mr. 3000	Maureen 'Mo' Simmons
2005	Mr. & Mrs. Smith	Mr. Smith's Boss	Uncredited Voice Role
2006	Akeelah and the Bee	Tanya Anderson
2007	Meet the Robinsons	Mildred	Voice Role
2008	Gospel Hill	Sarah Malcolm
	Of Boys and Men	Rieta Cole
	Meet the Browns	Brenda Brown
	Nothing But the Truth	Bonnie Benjamin
2009	Notorious	Voletta Wallace	Supporting Role
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Doubletake	Prostitute at Headquarters	CBS TV-Movie
	Spenser: For Hire	Joe's Daughter	Episode: The Choice
1985, 1988	The Cosby Show	Mrs. Mitchell Paula	Episode: Mr. Quiet Episode: Bookworm
1986	Liberty	Linda Thornton	NBC TV-Movie
1987	Ryan's Hope	Leonie Peach
1989	A Man Called Hawk	Bailey Webster	Episode: The Master's Mirror Episode: Never My Love
	Tour of Duty	Lt. Camilla Patterson	Episode: Hard Stripe Episode: The Volunteer
	227	Amy Burnett	Episode: A Pampered Tale
	Thirtysomething	Kate Harriton	Episode: Legacy
1990	Family of Spies	Bev Andress	CBS TV-Movie
	Alien Nation	Renee Longstreet	Episode: Eyewitness News
	Challenger	Cheryl McNair	ABC TV-Movie
	Equal Justice	Janet Fields	Episode: Goodbye, Judge Green
	In the Best Interest of the Child	Lori	CBS TV-Movie
	Perry Mason: In the Case of the Silenced Singer	Carla Peters	NBC TV-Movie
1991	Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story	Pat	NBC TV-Movie
	The Flash	Linda Lake	Episode: Beat the Clock
	Fire: Trapped on the 37th Floor	Allison	ABC TV-Movie
	Stat	Dr. Willie Burns	Episode: Ladyfinger
	The Heroes of Desert Storm	Lt. Phoebe Jeter	ABC TV-Movie
	Locked Up: A Mother's Rage	Willie	TV-Movie
	One Special Victory	Lois	NBC TV-Movie
1992	Nightmare Cafe	Evelyn	Episode: Sanctuary for a Child
	The Jacksons: An American Dream	Katherine Jackson	ABC Miniseries
1995	Get Smart	Uncredited Role Runway Model	Episode: Pilot
2001	Ruby's Bucket of Blood	Ruby Delacroix	Showtime TV-Movie
2002	The Rosa Parks Story	Rosa Louise McCauley Parks	CBS TV-Movie
2003	Freedom: A History of Us	Sheyann Webb Melba Pattillo	PBS Miniseries Episode: Marching to Freedom Land Episode: Let Freedom Ring
2005	Alias	CIA Director Hayden Chase	Episode: Authorized Personnel Only (1) Episode: The Index Episode: The Descent Episode: Search And Rescue
2006	Time Bomb	Jill Greco	CBS TV-Movie
2008-2009	ER	Dr. Cate Banfield

Awards and nominations

• Academy Award

• 1994, Best Actress in a Leading Role for What's Love Got to Do with It, Nominated

• BET Awards

• 2007, Best Actress for Akeelah and the Bee, Winner

• Black Movie Awards

• 2006, Best Supporting Actress for Akeelah and the Bee, Winner

• Black Reel Awards

• 2007, Best Supporting Actress for Akeelah and the Bee, Nominated
• 2005, Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy for Mr. 3000, Nominated
• 2002, Best Actress in a Network/Cable Film for The Rosa Parks Story, Winner
• 2002, Best Actress for Sunshine State, Winner
• 2001, Best Actress for Boseman and Lena, Nominated
• 2000, Best Supporting for Music of the Heart, Nominated

• Daytime Emmy Awards

• 2003, Outstanding Children's Series (Our America), Nominated
• 1996, Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series (Storytime), Nominated

• Emmy Awards

• 2002, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini-Series/Television Movie (The Rosa Parks Story), Nominated

• Golden Globe Award

• 1993, Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for What's Love Got to Do With It, Winner

• Image Awards

• 2007, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Akeelah and the Bee), Nominated
• 2005, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Mr. 3000), Nominated
• 2003, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Sunshine State) Winner
• 2003, Outstanding Actress in a Mini-Series/Television Movie (The Rosa Parks Story), Winner
• Also, on March 20th 2008, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard.

References

External links

• Angela Bassett at the Internet Movie Database
• Angela Bassett at the Internet Broadway Database
• Angela Bassett at the Internet off-Broadway Database
• Angela Bassett at Allmovie
• Bassett at Wireimage.com
• Bassett at TvGuide.com
• Angela Bassett Interview with husband Courtney B. Vance on Sidewalks Entertainment
• PhillyDailyNews

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