Big Birthday Mission
AS SHE APPROACHES TURNING 60, THE FILM AND TV STAR KNOWS LOVE HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT
Angela Bassett has many reasons to celebrate these days. She’s got a key role as the CIA director in the blockbuster Mission: Impossible — Fallout (opening July 27). Her Fox drama 9-1-1 has been picked up for a second season. And on Aug. 16, she marks a milestone birthday: 60.
But she’s not waiting to start the party. On July 4, she gathered with 40 friends and loved ones — including her husband, Courtney B. Vance (who played Johnnie Cochran in American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson), and actresses Felicity Huffman and Tiffany Haddish — at NYC’s Liquor Lab for a pre-birthday bash. The drinks were named after some of her most famous movies like Strange Days and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and the food was from Hill Country Barbecue Market. “Throughout the night, people kept on saying, ‘Angela throws the best parties!’ ” an insider tells Closer.
Still, “my greatest accomplishments are my family and my kids,” Angela tells Closer of her 12-year-old twins, son Slater and daughter Bronwyn. “Seeing them grow up beautifully and respectfully is an amazing thing to watch. They are delightful individuals, and they make me so proud.”
No doubt they’re equally impressed by their mom, who shows no signs of slowing down after appearing in this year’s smash Black Panther. “You can only hope to keep moving forward, growing and doing better — there’s no point in looking back,” Angela says. “I have no regrets, and I feel as if there’s still a great deal for me to learn.” — Reporting by Diana Cooper and Ilyssa Panitz