-- Laurence Fishburne's praise for his "What's Love Got To Do With It?" co-star

Born August 16, 1958 in New York City.

An amazing and beautiful actress who doesn't get nearly enough roles in Hollywood. One of the few actors who has mastered the art of stage presence, Angela honed her acting talents at Yale where she earned a B.A. in African American Studies and M.F.A in Drama. While there she studied with celebrated stage director Lloyd Richards.

Richards cast her in two hugely successful August Wilson plays: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Despite her success on the stage, Bassett couldn't break free of the largely stereotypical roles offered to her as an African American female in the film industry.

Undeterred, she pressed on an took roles diverse projects . She's played Betty Shabazz in Spike Lee's Malcolm X as well as appearing in Strange Days, How Stella Got Her Grove Back, Contact, Waiting to Exhale, and (most notably) the Oscar nominated role of Tina Turner in What's Love Got To Do With It?

In recent years, she played Lady Macbeth in a Broadway production of Macbeth opposite Alec Baldwin and in the film Music of the Heart with Meryl Streep.

She is married to actor Courtney Vance, who appeared in The Last Supper with Cameron Diaz.