ANGELA BASSETT Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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ANGELA BASSETT

Name: Angela Bassett                                                                 
Born: 16 August 1958 Harlem, New York, U.S.                                           
                                                                                     
Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an Emmy and Academy Award-nominated, 
and Golden Globe winning American actress who is particularly known for               
biographical film roles portraying women in American culture.                         
                                                                                     
Bassett was born in New York City on june 7 1965, then relocated to St.               
Petersburg, Florida, as a child. She and her sister D'nette were raised by their     
social worker mother, Betty. As a young child, her interest in entertaining           
developed, as she and her sister would often put on shows, reading poems or           
performing popular music for their family. At "Boca Ciega High School", Bassett       
was a member of the debate team, student government, drama club, choir, and was       
a cheerleader.                                                                       
                                                                                     
Bassett attended Yale University and received her B.A. in African-American           
studies in 1980. In 1983, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale       
School of Drama. At Yale, Bassett met her future husband Courtney B. Vance, a         
1986 graduate of the drama school. After graduation, Bassett worked as a             
receptionist for a beauty salon and as a photo researcher.                           
                                                                                     
She soon looked for acting work in New York theater. One of her first New York       
performances came in 1985 when she appeared in J.E. Franklin's Black Girl at         
Second Stage Theatre. She appeared in two August Wilson plays at the Yale             
Repertory Theatre under the direction of her long-time instructor Lloyd Richards.     
The Wilson plays featuring Bassett were Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984) and Joe       
Turner's Come and Gone (1986).                                                       
                                                                                     
She is currently a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States.