What did Angela Bassett win an Oscar for?

We’ve all known how talented Angela Bassett is for years now, but it’s surprising how long it’s taken for the actress to finally be recognised and presented an Oscar. But what was it for? The Academy Awards aren’t for another couple of months yet, so clearly this isn’t your standard, run-of-the-mill trophy.

Bassett was given an honorary Oscar at the Governers Awards Ceremony last night. This is recognition of an actor’s significant contributions to the motion picture arts and to win one is a great achievement — it’s been a long time coming for the Hollywood icon, but we got there in the end.

The Governors Awards have been going for the past 14 years, and aim to shine a spotlight on actors and actresses who might have been overlooked in past ceremonies.

Bassett gave thanks to her family during her acceptance speech. She continued by thanking the board of governors for recognizing her achievement while also managing to remain humble and uplift other Black actresses.

“To my fellow Black actresses, fill your hearts with courage and strength because regardless of what you may think or see or feel your contributions do matter.”

Bassett is only the second Black actress to be awarded an honorary Oscar in the 14 years the ceremony has been running. The first actress to take home the statuette was Cicely Tyson in 2018, which Angela also found time to acknowledge during her speech.

“I have had to let it sink in that I am the second black actress to receive an honorary Oscar, the first being my dear friend and mentor, the late Cicely Tyson in 2018. Having a chance to work with and learn from miss Tyson is one of the most memorable and treasured experiences of my career and life.”

The Boyz n the Hood actress has been nominated for an Oscar twice in the past, the first time was back in 1994, in which she was nominated for the best actress award for the Tina Turner biopic, What’s Love Got to Do with It? The second time was last years Oscars, in which she was nominated for best supporting actress in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Unfortunately both times, the actress just missed out on taking the award home.

Last year’s Oscar snub upset many, and there was a great deal of support for the actress, who many felt had been robbed. One of the most vocal supporters of Bassett was fellow Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan, who posted a sweet collage celebrating the actresses best roles of the past 40 years to Twitter.

Four other Oscars were presented at the ceremony in total, with Mel Brooks and Carol Littleton also receiving honorary awards, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award being given to Michelle Satter.