Angela Bassett

It takes a strong woman to portray a strong female character, and Angela Bassett fits the bill. From her breakout role as single mother Reva Devereaux in John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood (1991), to her portrayal of fierce Queen Ramonda of Wakanda in Marvel’s Black Panther films, Angela’s unmistakable voice, signature delivery, and grand presence command immediate attention.

Born in New York City, Angela lived in North Carolina until the age of four, when her family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. The first Black student attending Boca Ciega High School to be admitted to the National Honors Society, Angela went on to Yale, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in African American Studies in 1980 and a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama in 1983. In 1988, she moved to Los Angeles.

Angela has portrayed many real-life characters, including Coretta Scott King and Rosa Parks, but it was her powerful portrayal of Tina Turner in Touchstone’s What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993) that earned her numerous accolades, including an Academy Award® nomination and a Golden Globe® for Best Actress, making her the first Black performer to win this category. She received two Emmy nominations for outstanding narrator for National Geographic’s The Flood (2018) and the Disney+ docuseries The Imagineering Story (2019), and was nominated for her second Academy Award, this time in the Best Supporting Actress category, for the role of Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). She is also the star and executive producer of the hit ABC drama 9-1-1; voiced Dorothea Williams in Disney and Pixar’s Oscar-winning animated feature Soul (2020); and received an Honorary Academy Award in 2024.