page_title: Angela Bassett
section_title: 1990s
hierarchical_section_title: Angela Bassett / Career / 1990s
caption_attribution_description: From March 8, 1996 N.A.B.O.B. Washington D.C. © copyright John Mathew Smith 2001
context_page_description: Angela Evelyn Bassett Vance is an American actress, director, producer, and activist. She is known for her biographical film roles, most notably her performance as Tina Turner in the biopic What's Love Got to Do with It, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Bassett has additionally portrayed real life figures Betty Shabazz in both Malcolm X and Panther, Katherine Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream, Voletta Wallace in Notorious and Coretta Scott King in Betty & Coretta. Her other notable film roles include Reva Styles in Boyz n the Hood, Bernie Harris in Waiting to Exhale, Rachel Constantine in Contact, Lynne Jacobs in Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen, and Queen Ramonda in Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame.
  Bassett began her film career in the 1980s, after earning a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University and a master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of Drama. In the 1990s, 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 year.
context_section_description: In 1990, Bassett played an airline stewardess alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, a tough cop who went undercover as a kindergarten teacher to crack a case. This became Basset's first movie role.
  In 1992, Bassett played Katherine Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream. Bassett's agents tried to discourage her from playing the role, given the negative reception that Michael Jackson had. She admitted to not caring about the negative view of members of the Jackson family at the time, citing her childhood fondness of the group as an example of her passion for the project and believed her "instinct" about the role had been correct once learning of the positive reviews the miniseries received after airing. Bassett had previously idolized the group growing up and said the Jackson family were positive influences on the African-American community for their successes. Bassett had previously worried that after her role as Betty Shabazz in Malcolm X, she would not find another role "as satisfying". Bassett at the time of the film's release expressed her belief that her career would never receive such high-profile roles again. "I think I have been incredibly blessed and it is probably just all downhill from here."
  Later that year, Bassett was cast as Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). Bassett returned to Los Angeles after Malcolm X filming was completed, and got a call for an audition for a movie based on I, Tina, Tina Turner's memoir. Bassett won a Golden Globe and earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Turner. She was the first African-American to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Bassett obtained the role after beating Halle Berry and Robin Givens, but only had a month to prepare before filming began. She met Tina Turner twice, and was given advice by the woman she would be portraying from wigs and outfits to dancing styles. Turner also did Bassett's make up, leading Bassett to call her "supportive" and her "biggest fan." Bassett described to the Orlando Sentinel going to one of Turner's concerts and crying profusely. According to Bassett, upon realizing that she knew some of Turner's dance moves, she was "almost a river of tears." Marc Bernardin of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Bassett "gave the performance of a lifetime" portraying Turner in the biopic.
  Bassett starred in three movies in 1995, which were released with varied reactions from critics: Vampire in Brooklyn, Strange Days, and Waiting to Exhale (where she worked with author Terry McMillan). In Strange Days, Bassett played Lornette "Mace" Mason, a chauffeur and bodyguard. In Vampire in Brooklyn, she played Rita Veder, a tortured cop with a dark secret. She was excited to work with Eddie Murphy in Vampire in Brooklyn, as well as director Wes Craven. Bassett had previously worked with Craven on television shows. Bassett's character in Waiting to Exhale, Bernadine Harris, was betrayed by her husband and in revenge she set fire to his entire wardrobe and vehicle, then sold what was left for one dollar. Bassett described the then-recently filmed party scene and her character in Waiting to Exhale to the Orlando Sentinel. Bassett said, "The thing is that my character is thinking about how her husband has left her. I have a cigarette in one hand, and I'm drinking. Basically, the four of us are sitting there talking about men and having some fun."
  In 1997, she starred as the President's advisor in Contact. Stephen Holden of The New York Times opinioned that Bassett was "largely wasted as a Presidential assistant."
  In 1998, Fatboy Slim sampled Bassett's voice from 1995's Strange Days, specifically the line "this is your life, right here, right now!", for his hit single "Right Here, Right Now". Also in 1998, Bassett starred in How Stella Got Her Groove Back, once again collaborating with McMillan. She played Stella, a 40-year-old American professional woman who falls in love with a 20-year-old Jamaican man. She received praise for the performance, Stephen Holden of The New York Times calling Basset
caption: Bassett at the NABOB Awards, 1996
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