Angela Evelyn Bassett
,
New York City, New York, USA
Birthday
1958-08-16
Occupation
Actress, Director
Spouse(s)
Courtney B. Vance (12 October 1997 - present) (2 children)
Years Active
1985–present
Biography
Angela Evelyn Bassett, MFA, (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress and film director. She is best known for her biographical film roles, most notably her Academy Award-nominated performance as Tina Turner in the biopic What's Love Got to Do with It. In addition, Bassett has portrayed Betty Shabazz in Malcolm X and Panther, Rosa Parks in The Rosa Parks Story, Coretta Scott King in Betty and Coretta, Katherine Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream, and Voletta Wallace in Notorious.
Bassett began her film career in the mid-1980s after graduating from Yale University and its drama school. She did not find any stability in the industry until the 1990s, at which point 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 single 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.
In 2013, she had a recurring role on the FX horror series American Horror Story: Coven, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her performance as Voodoo queen Marie Laveau. She returned for Freak Show, the anthology series' fourth season, portraying a three-breasted woman named Desiree Dupree for which she received another nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. In 2015, Bassett returned for the fifth season American Horror Story: Hotel portraying Ramona Royale, a famous movie star. Bassett has confirmed that she will return for the show's sixth cycle in 2016.
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