Angela Bassett

As actress, director, and producer, Angela Bassett's talent and abilities have garnered respect and acclaim from the entertainment industry, critics, and the public alike.

Ms. Bassett received a Directors Guild of America Award nomination for her directorial debut on the telefilm Whitney, a drama about Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, which was Lifetime's most-watched telecast in over a year. She has completed directing an episode on water issues for National Geographic Channel's innovative new science anthology series Breakthrough.

Further venturing into new mediums, she is performing the lead character of Six in the video game franchise Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege; and doing voice work on Netflix's animated series BoJack Horseman.

Her first Emmy Award nomination was for portraying civil rights icon Rosa Parks in the telefilm The Rosa Parks Story, directed by Julie Dash. She has twice been Emmy Award-nominated for her colorful characterizations on the anthology series American Horror Story. In 2016, viewers could have seen Ms. Bassett starring in writer/director Stephen Poliakoff's Cold War-set BBC miniseries Close to the Enemy, alongside Jim Sturgess, Freddie Highmore, Alfred Molina, and Charlotte Riley of London Has Fallen.

Beginning her career on stage, the Yale School of Drama graduate starred on and off-Broadway in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom; Colored People's Time; Henry IV, Part 1; Joe Turner's Come and Gone; and Black Girl. She starred opposite Alec Baldwin in Macbeth at the storied Joseph Papp Public Theater in New York; alongside her husband, Courtney B. Vance, in the North American premiere of John Guare's His Girl Friday, at Minneapolis' historic Guthrie Theater; and with Laurence Fishburne in August Wilson's classic play Fences, at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse. She was most recently on Broadway starring opposite Samuel L. Jackson in Katori Hall's Olivier Award-winning play The Mountaintop.

She portrayed real-life matriarch Katherine Jackson in the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, directed by Karen Arthur; received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for the "Uncle Jed's Barbershop" episode of PBS' Storytime; and narrated the PBS miniseries Africans in America. In addition to American Horror Story, her television series appearances have included starring on the final season of NBC's classic ER; and a recurring role on Alias. She has twice been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, for her performances in the telefilms Ruby's Bucket of Blood, directed by Peter Werner; and Betty & Coretta, directed by Yves Simoneau. In the latter, she portrayed Coretta Scott King. Ms. Bassett has received 21 NAACP Image Award nominations over the years, and has been honored with eight wins.

Her unforgettable portrayal of legendary singer Tina Turner, opposite Laurence Fishburne as Ike Turner, in Brian Gibson's What's Love Got to Do with It earned her Golden Globe and NAACP Image Awards as well as an Academy Award nomination.

Among her many other feature films are Kasi Lemmons' Black Nativity, opposite Forest Whitaker, a musical based on Langston Hughes' Gospel Song Play of the same name; John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood; Waiting to Exhale, directed by Mr. Whitaker; Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days; Robert Zemeckis' Contact; John Berry's Boesman and Lena, based on Athol Fugard's play; Frank Oz's The Score; George Tillman Jr.'s Notorious; Salim Akil's hit wedding comedy/drama Jumping the Broom; and, in her first turn as Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs, Olympus Has Fallen, the predecessor to London Has Fallen that was directed by Antoine Fuqua. Ms. Bassett has enjoyed extended collaborations with several directors: John Sayles (on City of Hope, Passion Fish, Sunshine State), the late Wes Craven (Vampire in Brooklyn, Music of the Heart), and Spike Lee (Malcolm X and this winter's acclaimed Chi-Raq).

One of the most gratifying moments of her career was the opportunity to merge faith and talent when she gave voice to various characters for the all-time best selling audiobook The Bible Experience. She and her husband co-wrote the inspirational book Friends: A Love Story, based on their own lives. Together they have formed Bassett Vance Productions and their first project, Book of the Year, was directed by Ms. Bassett.

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