Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress,
director, producer, and activist. She is known for portraying real
life African-American women, usually smart and strong women. Most
notably, she was nominated for Academy Award for Best Actress and won
the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress â€" Motion Picture Comedy or
Musical for her performance as Tina Turner in the biopic What's Love
Got to Do with It (1993). Bassett has additionally portrayed real life
figures Betty Shabazz in both Malcolm X (1992) and Panther (1995),
Katherine Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992), Voletta
Wallace in Notorious (2009) and Coretta Scott King in Betty & Coretta
(2013). Her other notable film roles include Reva Styles in Boyz n the
Hood (1991), Bernie Harris in Waiting to Exhale (1995), Rachel
Constantine in Contact (1997), Lynne Jacobs in Olympus Has Fallen
(2013) and London Has Fallen (2016), and Queen Ramonda in Black
Panther (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).Bassett began her film
career in the 1980s, after earning a bachelor of arts degree from Yale
University and a master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of
Drama. In the 1990s, she appeared in films nearly every year. The
2000s saw a succession of films starring Bassett, with her appearing
in at least one film every year. Bassett's success has continued into
the 2010s. Bassett earned nominations for her roles in films such as
The Score (2001), Akeelah and the Bee (2006), Meet the Browns (2008)
and Jumping the Broom (2011) and won awards for her performances in
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) and Music of the Heart (1999),
among others. Bassett's performance as Rosa Parks in the 2002 film The
Rosa Parks Story was honored with her first Primetime Emmy Award
nomination.In 2013, Bassett had a recurring role on the FX horror
anthology series American Horror Story: Coven, earning her second
Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Voodoo queen
Marie Laveau. She returned as a series regular for Freak Show, the
series' fourth season, portraying Desiree Dupree, for which she
received another Emmy Award nomination. For the fifth season, Hotel,
she portrayed Ramona Royale, a famous movie star. Bassett returned to
the series's sixth cycle, Roanoke, portraying an alcoholic actress
named Monet Tumusiime, who plays struggling mother and former police
officer Lee Harris in the My Roanoke Nightmare documentary, and she
reprised her role as Marie Laveau in a guest role in the eighth season
Apocalypse. In 2018, Bassett began producing and starring in the Fox
first responder drama series 9-1-1, playing LAPD patrol sergeant
Athena Grant.
director, producer, and activist. She is known for portraying real
life African-American women, usually smart and strong women. Most
notably, she was nominated for Academy Award for Best Actress and won
the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress â€" Motion Picture Comedy or
Musical for her performance as Tina Turner in the biopic What's Love
Got to Do with It (1993). Bassett has additionally portrayed real life
figures Betty Shabazz in both Malcolm X (1992) and Panther (1995),
Katherine Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992), Voletta
Wallace in Notorious (2009) and Coretta Scott King in Betty & Coretta
(2013). Her other notable film roles include Reva Styles in Boyz n the
Hood (1991), Bernie Harris in Waiting to Exhale (1995), Rachel
Constantine in Contact (1997), Lynne Jacobs in Olympus Has Fallen
(2013) and London Has Fallen (2016), and Queen Ramonda in Black
Panther (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).Bassett began her film
career in the 1980s, after earning a bachelor of arts degree from Yale
University and a master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of
Drama. In the 1990s, she appeared in films nearly every year. The
2000s saw a succession of films starring Bassett, with her appearing
in at least one film every year. Bassett's success has continued into
the 2010s. Bassett earned nominations for her roles in films such as
The Score (2001), Akeelah and the Bee (2006), Meet the Browns (2008)
and Jumping the Broom (2011) and won awards for her performances in
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) and Music of the Heart (1999),
among others. Bassett's performance as Rosa Parks in the 2002 film The
Rosa Parks Story was honored with her first Primetime Emmy Award
nomination.In 2013, Bassett had a recurring role on the FX horror
anthology series American Horror Story: Coven, earning her second
Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Voodoo queen
Marie Laveau. She returned as a series regular for Freak Show, the
series' fourth season, portraying Desiree Dupree, for which she
received another Emmy Award nomination. For the fifth season, Hotel,
she portrayed Ramona Royale, a famous movie star. Bassett returned to
the series's sixth cycle, Roanoke, portraying an alcoholic actress
named Monet Tumusiime, who plays struggling mother and former police
officer Lee Harris in the My Roanoke Nightmare documentary, and she
reprised her role as Marie Laveau in a guest role in the eighth season
Apocalypse. In 2018, Bassett began producing and starring in the Fox
first responder drama series 9-1-1, playing LAPD patrol sergeant
Athena Grant.
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