Angela Bassett is one of the great actors of her generation. Few have a filmography as rich and versatile, and few have mastered the kind of presence and grace that have defined Bassett’s career for decades.
In 2023, at 64, the New York native was set to receive the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. A recognition that had meaning beyond the film, serving as a celebration of a lifetime of underappreciated work. She did not win in a choice that will undoubtedly live on as one of the Oscars’ biggest blunders.
Bassett did go on to win the most coveted award in the film industry in 2024 when she received an Honorary Oscar for her contributions to the art form. Perhaps an admission of guilt from the Academy, but ultimately a well-earned honor that had been a long time coming.
After receiving an Oscar, has Angela Bassett achieved EGOT status?
EGOT is a term referring to winners of all four leading awards in the American entertainment industry: the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, and the Tony. Bassett is not an EGOT just yet.
The What’s Love Got to Do with It actress has a long list of accolades, including, as mentioned, an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and a SAG award, but she has yet to win an Emmy, a Grammy, or a Tony.
Bassett has been nominated for the prestigious television award a whopping ten times, including two Daytime Emmy nods, for her work in the likes of The Rosa Parks Story, American Horror Story, and A Black Lady Sketch Show, among others. She’s also found herself among the Academy Awards nominees on two occasions before finally being given the recognition of an honorary Oscar. The first was in 1994 for her first major lead role as Tina Turner in the biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It, with the second following almost three decades later in 2023 for her Marvel Cinematic Universe role.
As for the Grammys and the Tonys, the actress, whose career started in live theater, where she made her mark performing in works by pioneering playwright August Wilson, has never received a nomination for either. There’s still time, however. And if there is one major Hollywood star deserving of the EGOT status, it is Angela Bassett.