January 10, (THEWILL) – Hollywood actor, Angela Bassett, has been celebrated for a lifetime of memorable roles from Tina Turner to the Queen Of Wakanda, prompting Hollywood’s film academy to give her an honorary Oscars award.
Accepting her trophy, Bassett paid tribute to the 10 black women who have won Academy Awards, naming each one, and said she hoped the film industry would provide more opportunities for people of colour.
“My prayer is that we leave this industry more enriched, forward-thinking and inclusive than we found it,” 65-year-old Bassett said.
“At the end of the day, we all just want to have the opportunity to do great, meaningful work.”
Bassett was nominated for two competitive Oscars. The first was for her breakout role as Turner in 1993’s ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It,’ and the second for playing Queen Ramonda in 2022’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’
Bassett was selected by the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the group that will hand out this year’s Oscars in March.
