My Biography on ANGELA BASSETT

Born August 16, 1958, in New York City, actress Angela Bassett was raised with her sister, D'nette, in St. Petersburg, Florida by her single mother, Betty, a social worker. On a high school trip, she became inspired to act after seeing a Kennedy Center production of Of Mice and Men, starring James Earl Jones.Encouraged by a teacher, Bassett went on to study at Yale on scholarship, earning a B.A. in Afro-American Studies and an M.F.A. in drama. While there, she studied under the renowned stage director Lloyd Richards who cast her in the Broadway productions of two August Wilson plays, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Joe Turner's Come and Gone.Despite her early success on stage, Bassett had to work hard to break through the stereotypical roles usually assigned to African American women on screen. Her first role was a bit part in the cult favorite, F/X  in 1986. In 1991, she had a key role in the seminal anti-gang film, Boyz 'N the Hood. A year later, she landed the role of Katherine Jackson, mother of the Jackson Five singing group, in The Jacksons: An American Dream in 1992. Bassett continued her stream of strong female roles by portraying Betty Shabazz in Spike Lee's Malcolm X in 1992 with Denzel Washington in the title role. She turned in an outstanding performance in her breakthrough role as Tina Turner in What's Love Got To Do With It? in 1993, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Bassett married Vance on October 12, 1997. The couple's son and daughter were born by surrogate in 2006. Still today, Angela Bassett is considered my favorite actress and a positive role model.