ANGELA BASSETT
THE TALENTED BLACK PANTHER ACTRESS RADIATES THE CONFIDENCE OF A REAL-LIFE SUPERHERO
The Black Panther badass opens up about being a superheroic mom as well as a game-changing actress.
At the Black Panther premiere, Angela Bassett expressed how important it was for her 12-year-old twins Bronwyn and Slater to see the film, in which she plays a powerful queen and mother of the superhero. “They can see themselves as warriors, as heroes, as kings, as queens,” she shared. “It’s such positive images.”
The movie’s matriarch is just Angela’s most recent indomitable character. From Tina Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do With It to Coretta Scott King in 2013’s Betty and Coretta, she’s worked hard to bring positive images to life. And in playing them, Angela’s own unbreakable spirit shines through. “If you’re passionate, you have a great shot at being successful,” she tells Closer. “I’ve learned to always keep my head up.” Adds an insider, “Angela is a survivor. If she falls down, she gets up and keeps moving.”
FINDING HER FIRE
Angela always dreamed big. At 15, she saw Of Mice and Men onstage and immediately decided she wanted to be an actress. “My mother said, ‘Not in your lifetime! What black actresses do we have?’” Angela, 59, recalls how her social worker mom, Betty, tried to shield her from disappointment. Angela’s drive — which later earned her a degree from Yale University’s drama school — soon won Betty’s blessing.
“Betty was there for her no matter what,” the insider says. “Her support is the reason Angela’s still acting and as relevant as ever today.” Betty died in 2014 from heart disease, but Angela remains grateful. “My mom was a real advocate for me,” she says.
The actress found another advocate in actor-husband Courtney B. Vance, 57. “They’re best friends,” the insider says. And Angela adds having a partner in the business is “fabulous” because he understands the pressures she faces. “Juggling motherhood and a career is hard work,” she explains, and his help is a huge asset. “He’s very involved. And he can do everything but hair!”
Angela can pretty much do it all, too. She’s donned the director’s hat for American Horror Story and the TV movie Whitney, and she’s always eager to share the wisdom of her years with her younger co-stars. “She tells them to study, study, study,” the insider says. “She urges them to read, go to museums, and learn about history and art.”
That’s advice she’s taken herself. “She learned Buddhism, specifically how to chant, from Tina Turner,” the insider reveals of Angela’s takeaway from her portrayal of the rock legend. That role also got Angela into top physical shape — those arms! — and she and Courtney have a trainer who puts them through a free-weight workout three times a week.
Still, it’s Angela’s mental fortitude that makes her such a force in Hollywood. “I’m living my dream,” she beams. “I’ve come to understand that I possess a strength that people can feel and appreciate, a strength and sensitivity. I feel very blessed.” — Ron Kelly