Photo:John Russo
John Russo
Angela Bassetthas long reigned over Hollywood, but off-screen her powerhouse career — which now includes a gleaming new Oscar — has hinged less on glamor and more on grit.
For the actress and mom of twinsBronwyn and Slater, 18, with the Emmy-winning actorCourtney B. Vance, it’s always been about “the work, not the fame,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story kicking off the 2024 Women Changing the World issue.
“I’ve always been a hard worker,” the9-1-1star says. “You have to know what to say no to as well as what to say yes to. And during this time, a lot of things have been worthy of me saying yes to.”
With more than 100 roles under her belt and two Oscar nominations, behind Bassett’s successes (she’s also an executive producer of9-1-1and9-1-1 Lone Starand has a new fantasy film,Damsel, hitting Netflix March 8) are long days, tough choices and an unwillingness to accept reductive roles.
Slater Vance, Angela Bassett, Bronwyn Vance and Courtney B. Vance at the 2024 Governors Awards.Frazer Harrison/Getty
Frazer Harrison/Getty
Often leaving her home before the sun rises and returning after dark to film9-1-1(which kicks off season 7 with ahoneymoon cruise disasteron ABC March 14) some days, she feels guilt about the time away from her teenage children, who are heading to college in the fall.
“But also I hope that what will come out of that is that they see a mama, a woman, a Black woman achieving her dreams, having success,” she says. “They’ll see that hard work pays off. And they’ll be about that life for themselves.”
And when Bassett, 65,canmake dinner, there’s new competition in town. “Now it’s a switch. They’re older. They like to DoorDash. I’m like, ‘I’m going to cook tonight.’ [They go], ‘Oh, mom, my meal’s coming in five minutes,' " she laughs. “So much for me being spontaneous.”
Angela Bassett and Peter Krause in a scene from ‘9-1-1’.20th Television
20th Television
Angela Bassett in ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It’.Everett
Everett
Vance notes that in her private life, Bassett is “very shy” about her accomplishments. “She’ll never toot her own horn,” he says. “The honorary Oscar was a wonderful night, but I flashed back to 30 years ago when they didn’t call her name, and then when they didn’t call her name last March. This was an opportunity for her to stand up there. A lot of people saw it, but not the billion people that would see it at the Oscars. But it meant everything to her.”
“One of the things that always that I say to myself and to my kids is, ‘Find the good and praise it,' ” Bassett tells PEOPLE, noting a “confluence of wondrous events” lately: Her twins turned 18, her career is stronger than ever, and an Oscar sits in her living room.
“The fact that it’s happening all at the same time, it can be a little overwhelming unless you just breathe through it and remember to be grateful,” she says. “For all of it. For what you prayed for, what you worked for, for what you dreamed of.”
For more on Angela Bassett’s life lessons, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, available on newsstands everywhere Friday.
source: people.com
