Her breakthrough performance portraying singer Tina Turner in the biopic “What’s Love Got to Do with It” earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1994. It was the first Oscar nomination for the actress and although she lost the golden statuette to Holly Hunter for the film “The Piano,” Bassett will now receive an Honorary Oscar.
“Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting. She is one of the most esteemed actors of her time,” said Academy President Janet Yang following the announcement today by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honor the actress.
Bassett’s notable film credits include “Boyz N the Hood,” “Malcolm X,” “Waiting to Exhale,” “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” “Sunshine State,” “Black Panther,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Soul” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” in which her supporting performance earned her a second Oscar nomination.
Her television credits include “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” “The Rosa Parks Story,” “American Horror Story” and “9-1-1.”
Other honorees scheduled to receive accolades include Mel Brooks and editor Carol Littleton and Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter. The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 14th Governors Awards event on Saturday, November 18 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”
Spike Lee, who was famously snubbed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences more than a quarter of a century ago, received an honorary Oscar for his contributions to filmmaking back in 2015.
Samantha Ofole-Prince is a journalist and movie critic who covers industry-specific news that includes television and film. She serves as the Entertainment Editor for Trendy Africa.
