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Angela Bassett Biography (1958-)

Born August 16, 1958, in New York, NY; raised in St. Petersburg, FL; daughterof Betty Bassett (a civil servant and social worker); married Courtney B. Vance (an actor), October 12, 1997. Addresses: Agent: Kevin Huvane, Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212.; Manager:Doug Chapin, Krost/Chapin, 9465 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 430, Beverly Hills, CA90210.; Publicist: Lisa Kasteler, Wolf-Kasteler and Associates, 132 South Rodeo Dr., Suite 3000, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Nationality

American

Gender

Female

Occupation

Actress, producer

Birth Details

August 16, 1958

New York, New York, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Film Appearances
• Television reporter, F/X (also known as F/X--Murder by Illusion and Murder by Illusion), Orion, 1986
• Air Alaska stewardess, Kindergarten Cop, Universal, 1990
• Reva Styles (some sources cite Reva Devereaux), Boyz N the Hood (also known as Boys in the Hood), Columbia, 1991
• Reesha Himes, City of Hope, Samuel Goldwyn, 1991
• Fran, Critters 4, New Line Cinema, 1992
• U.S. Attorney Sinclair, Innocent Blood (also known as A FrenchVampire in America), Warner Bros., 1992
• Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X, Warner Bros., 1992
• Dawn/Rhonda, Passion Fish, Miramax, 1992
• Tina Turner/Anna Mae Bullock, What's Love Got to Do with It, BuenaVista, 1993
• Bernadine "Bernie" Harris, Waiting to Exhale, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1995
• Rita Veder, Vampire in Brooklyn (also known as Wes Craven's Vampire in Brooklyn), Paramount, 1995
• Betty Shabazz, Panther, Gramercy, 1995
• Lornette "Mace" Mason, Strange Days, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1995
• Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's, Northern Arts Entertainment, 1996
• Rachel Constantine, Contact, Warner Bros., 1997
• Bessie Coleman, Wings against the Wind, 1998
• Stella Payne, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1998
• Cosm, 1999
• 50 Violins, Miramax, 1999
• Kaela Evans, Supernova, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1999
• Janet Williams, Music of the Heart, Miramax, 1999
• Voice of Groove, Whispers: An Elephant's Tale, Buena Vista, 2000
• Lena, Boesman and Lena, Kino International, 2000
• Diane, The Score, Paramount, 2001
• Desiree Perry, Sunshine State, Sony Pictures Classics, 2002
• Television Appearances
• Movies
• Prostitute at headquarters, Doubletake (also known as Switch), CBS, 1985
• Linda Thornton, Liberty, NBC, 1986
• Lori, In the Best Interest of the Child (also known as A Mother's Plea), CBS, 1990
• Carla Peters, Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer, NBC, 1990
• Willie, Locked Up: A Mother's Rage (also known as The Other Side of Love and They're Doing My Time: The Delores Donovan Story), CBS, 1991
• Pat Clark, Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story (also known as Blind Hate, Season for Justice: The Morris Dees Story, and Triumph over Hate: The Morris Dees Story), NBC, 1991
• Lois, One Special Victory (also known as Another Side of Winning and Good Enough to Win), NBC, 1991
• First Lieutenant Phoebe Jeter, The Heroes of Desert Storm, ABC, 1991
• Allison, Fire! Trapped on the 37th Floor, ABC, 1991
• Ruby Delacrois, Ruby's Bucket of Blood, Showtime, 2001
• Rosa McCauley Parks, The Rosa Parks Story, CBS, 2002
• Miniseries
• Bev Andress, Family of Spies: The Walker Spy Ring (also known as Family of Spies), CBS, 1990
• Katherine Jackson, The Jacksons: An American Dream (also known asThe Jackson Five), ABC, 1992
• Voice, "A Century of Women," CNN Perspectives, CNN, 1994
• Narrator, Africans in America: America's Journey through Slavery,PBS, 1998
• Specials
• My Man Bovanne (also known as Ossie and Ruby), PBS, 1987
• The Winans' Real Meaning of Christmas, syndicated, 1993
• In a New Light '93, ABC, 1993
• Count on Me, PBS, 1993
• Voice of Zora Neale Hurston, A Century of Women (also known as A Family of Women), TBS, 1994
• Comic Relief VII, HBO, 1995
• Voice of Miles's mom, Our Friend, Martin, Starz!, 1999
• Host, The Concert of the Century for VH1 Save the Music, VH1, 1999
• Presenter, VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross, VH1, 2000
• Host, Faded Sequins, Tattered Dreams: Saving Hollywood's Classic Costumes, AMC, 2000
• Narrator, "Voices of Liberty," Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, NBC, 2001
• Intimate Portrait: Terry McMillan, Lifetime, 2001
• Episodic
• Mrs. Mitchell, "Mr. Quiet," The Cosby Show, 1985
• Joe's daughter, "The Choice," Spenser: For Hire, ABC, 1985
• Paula, "Bookworm," The Cosby Show, 1988
• Renee Longstreet, "Eyewitness News," Alien Nation, Fox, 1989
• Bailey Webster, "The Master's Mirror," A Man Called Hawk, ABC, 1989
• Bailey Webster, "Never My Love," A Man Called Hawk, ABC, 1989
• Kate Harriton, "Legacy," thirtysomething, ABC, 1989
• Lieutenant Camilla Patterson, "Hard Stripe," Tour of Duty, CBS, 1989
• Lieutenant Camilla Patterson, "The Volunteer," Tour of Duty, CBS,1989
• Amy Burnett, "A Pampered Tale," 227, 1989
• Cheryl McNair, "Challenger," ABC Theatre, ABC, 1990
• Linda Lake, "Beat the Clock," The Flash, CBS, 1991
• Evelyn, "Sanctuary for a Child," Nightmare Café, NBC, 1992
• Storytime, 1994
• Herself, Reading Rainbow, PBS, 1995
• Also appeared in The Guiding Light.
• Awards Presentations
• The Essence Awards, Fox, 1994
• The 26th Annual NAACP Image Awards, NBC, 1994
• Presenter, The MTV Movie Awards, MTV, 1994
• Presenter, The 20th Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 1994
• Presenter, The 15th Annual CableACE Awards, TNT, 1994
• Presenter, The 67th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1995
• Presenter, The 52nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, TBS, 1995
• The 27th Annual NAACP Image Awards, Fox, 1996
• Presenter, The 68th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1996
• Presenter, The 53rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, CBS, 1996
• Presenter, The 72nd Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 2000
• Presenter, The 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards, NBC, 2000
• Presenter, The 53rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, CBS, 2001
• The 32nd NAACP Image Awards, Fox, 2001
• Cochair, The 16th Annual IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards, Independent Film Channel, 2001
• Narrator, And Then One Night: The Making of "Dead Man Walking," PBS, 2001
• The 33rd NAACP Image Awards, Fox, 2002
• Other
• Dr. Willie Burns, a recurring role, STAT (series), ABC, 1991
• Malika, Angie, the Lieutenant (pilot), ABC, 1992
• Television Work
• Movies
• Producer, Ruby's Bucket of Blood, Showtime, 2001
• Executive producer and coproducer, The Rosa Parks Story, CBS, 2002
• Executive producer, Our America, Showtime, 2002
• Stage Appearances
• Beef, No Chicken, Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, CT, 1981-1982
• Colored People's Time, off-Broadway production, 1982
• Eve, Noah's wife, Mary, and Gill, The Mystery Plays, Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT, 1984-1985
• Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Broadway production, 1985
• Martha Pentecost, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Yale Repertory Theatre, 1985-1986, then Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, MA, 1986-1987, laterOld Globe Theatre, San Diego, CA, 1987-1988, and Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NewYork City, 1988
• Ruth Ann, Black Girl, Second Stage, Washington, DC, 1986
• The Painful Adventures of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Hartford StageCompany, 1986-1987
• Lady Percy, King Henry IV, Part I, New York Shakespeare Festival,Delacorte Theatre, Public Theatre, New York City, 1987
• Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, Martinson Hall, Public Theater, New York City, 1998
• Also appeared in an off-Broadway production of Antigone.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

• Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 23, Gale, 1999
• Current Biography Yearbook, Gale, 1996
• International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, St. James Press, 1996
• Newsmakers 1994, Issue 4, Gale, 1994

Periodicals

• Ebony, September, 1998, pp. 68-72
• Empire, Issue 82, 1996, p. 59
• Entertainment Weekly, December 8, 1995, p. 16
• Essence, December, 1995, pp. 78-81
• Femme Fatales, February 25, 2000, pp. 12-15
• Interview, June, 1993, pp. 84-87
• Jet, August 11, 1997, p. 58; September 7, 1998, p. 36
• Just for Black Men, January, 1999, pp. 40-43
• Movieline, September, 1998, pp. 68-71, 98
• Newsweek, July 1, 2002, p. 54
• Parade, February 17, 2002, pp. 4-6
• People Weekly, January 29, 1996, p. 94; July 21, 1997, p. 106; August 17, 1998, p. 110
• Premiere, December, 1992, pp. 39-40
• Time, August 17, 1998, p. 74
• Variety, March 16, 1998, p. 74