Angela Bassett. Image: Angela Weiss/ Getty Images.
After being nominated on two occasions, Angela Bassett is finally getting an Academy Award. Fans have long debated the Academy’s failure to bestow the legendary actress with the prestigious recognition—especially for her roles as Tina Tuner in What’s Love Got to Do With It, and as Queen Ramonda in Marvel’s Black Panther franchise.
On November 18, 2023, Bassett will receive an honorary Oscar at the 14th Governors Awards, reports the Associated Press. Other recipients of the award include comedian and actor Mel Brooks and editor Carol Littleton.
Janet Yang, president of the Academy, issued a statement paying tribute to Bassett, who’s regarded as one of the best actors of her generation.
“The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honor four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans,” Yang said in a statement. “Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting.”
Over the course of her remarkable career, Bassett has won 16 NAACP Image Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has been nominated for seven Emmys and was named one of the 100 ‘Most Influential People in the World’ in 2023 by Time magazine.
She’s starred in iconic films such as Boyz In The Hood, Malcolm X, What’s Love Got to Do with It, Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Notorious. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she’s played Queen Ramonda in Black Panther, Avengers: Endgame and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which earned her a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
On television, Bassett garnered critical acclaim starring as Katherine Jackson in the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream in 1992. Her portrayal of Rosa Parks in the television film The Rosa Parks Story earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress.
Currently, she stars in and executive produces the TV drama 9-1-1, which just completed its sixth season.