Angela Bassett Net Worth 2025: Black Panther Star’s Rise, TV Paychecks & Hollywood Legacy

Angela Bassett is one of Hollywood’s most respected and dynamic actresses, known for portraying powerful, inspiring characters in both film and television. With a career spanning decades, she’s earned critical acclaim, numerous awards, and a loyal fan base.

Given her long-standing success, it’s no surprise that many people are curious about how much is Angela Bassett’s net worth. Let’s take a closer look at how she’s earned her money and built an incredible legacy in the entertainment industry.

What is Angela Bassett’s Net Worth?

Angela Bassett is an American actress, director, and producer with an estimated net worth of $25 million, according to Parade. She has built her wealth over decades by acting in films, TV shows, and stage productions. She also earns money from producing and voice work. Angela has proven that talent and consistency can lead to long-term success.

Her salary for each episode of 9-1-1 is reported to be $450,000, making her one of the highest-paid actors in network television. With many seasons of the show behind her, this role alone has earned her millions.

Angela also made a large sum from movies like Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. While exact numbers are private, experts believe she earned between $2 million to $3 million from the Black Panther franchise.

Angela Bassett’s Early Life, Education, and Family Background

Angela Bassett was born on August 16, 1958, in New York City. Her mother, Betty Jane, worked as a social worker and civil servant. Her father, Daniel Benjamin Bassett, was a preacher’s son. Angela’s middle name, Evelyn, was given in honor of her aunt. Bassett’s sister D’nette was born ten months after her. To help with the family situation, Angela was sent to live with her Aunt Golden in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her aunt had no children but loved taking care of Angela.

At age four, Angela moved with her mother and sister to St. Petersburg, Florida, after her parents divorced. She didn’t see her father again for years. When she did, it was at her grandmother’s funeral. There, she met her father’s daughter Jean, who was older than Angela.

Angela Bassett attended Jordan Park Elementary and then Disston Middle School in 1970. Later, she went to Azalea Middle School. Her mother focused on making sure Angela and D’nette went to college. Angela was very passionate about the Jackson 5 and dreamed of marrying one of the members. She often performed music and poems with her sister for their family.

At Boca Ciega High School, Angela was very involved. She was a cheerleader, in the debate team, student government, and drama club. Angela was also a member of the Upward Bound program, which helped prepare students for college. She worked hard and became the first African American student at her school to join the National Honor Society.

Angela Bassett went on to study at Yale University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies in 1980. She then studied acting at the Yale School of Drama and received a Master of Fine Arts in 1983. There, she met her future husband, Courtney B. Vance, who also graduated from Yale’s drama school. Angela’s family was proud of her achievements, as she was the first to attend both college and graduate school.

Angela Bassett’s Acting Journey and Career Highlights

Angela Bassett started working hard after graduation. She took jobs as a receptionist and photo researcher while waiting for acting roles. Her first New York performance was in Black Girl 1985, followed by two plays by August Wilson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 1984 and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone 1986, directed by Lloyd Richards. She later returned to these works in 2006, acting in Fences with Laurence Fishburne.

Bassett’s film career began in 1986 with F/X, where she played a news reporter. She moved to Los Angeles in 1988 for more opportunities, appearing in TV shows like A Man Called Hawk and 227.

In the 1990s, Bassett gained fame for roles in Boyz n the Hood 1991 and Malcolm X 1992, where she played Betty Shabazz and won an NAACP Image Award. She also starred as Katherine Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream. Her breakthrough role came in What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993), where she portrayed Tina Turner, earning a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination.

Angela Bassett starred in Vampire in Brooklyn 1995, Strange Days 1995, and Waiting to Exhale 1995. She also appeared in How Stella Got Her Groove Back 1998 and Music of the Heart 1999. These roles further established her as a talented and versatile actress.

In 2000, Bassett turned down a role in Monster’s Ball due to its sexual content. Instead, she worked on films like Supernova and Boesman and Lena. She also appeared in The Score 2001 and Ruby’s Bucket of Blood 2001.

Angela Bassett’s role as Rosa Parks in The Rosa Parks Story 2002 earned her an Emmy nomination. In 2003, she appeared in Unchained Memories, narrating stories from former slaves. She also starred in Masked and Anonymous 2003 and Mr. 3000 2004, a comedy with Bernie Mac.

She played a mother in Akeelah and the Bee 2006, which she described as a rewarding experience. Bassett also worked in Meet the Robinsons 2007 and Gospel Hill 2008. On TV, she joined the final season of ER 2008-2009, playing Dr. Catherine Banfield, with her real-life husband Courtney Vance portraying her on-screen husband.

In Notorious 2009, Bassett played Voletta Wallace, the mother of The Notorious B.I.G. Her performance was praised, further cementing her legacy in Hollywood.

In 2010, Angela Bassett voiced First Lady Michelle Obama on The Simpsons episode “Stealing First Base.” She also starred as Amanda Waller in Green Lantern 2011, calling the experience “fun,” despite the challenges of computer effects. She worked with Samuel L. Jackson in the play The Mountaintop, a fictional take on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night before his assassination.

Angela Bassett also appeared in the 2011 film Jumping the Broom, playing a matriarch. While some critics said her performance was intense, others praised her for making the movie memorable. She later appeared in This Means War and I Ain’t Scared of You.

In 2013, Bassett portrayed Coretta Scott King in Betty and Coretta, a TV film about the wives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. She also starred in Olympus Has Fallen as Secret Service director Lynne Jacobs and sang in Black Nativity. Her role in American Horror Story: Coven as Marie Laveau earned her an Emmy nomination.

Bassett made her directorial debut with Whitney 2015, a film about singer Whitney Houston. She also appeared in London Has Fallen and voiced a character in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. In 2016, she directed an episode of American Horror Story: Roanoke.

In 2017, Bassett appeared in Underground and Master of None, where she played Catherine, the mother of Denise. In 2018, she joined 9-1-1, playing Officer Athena Grant, and starred in Black Panther as Queen Ramonda. She reprised her role in Avengers: Endgame and appeared in Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Bumblebee.

In the 2020s, Angela Bassett voiced Dorothea Williams in Soul and narrated Disney Enchantment. She won Best Supporting Actress for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and was nominated for an Academy Award. She later starred in Damsel and will appear in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in 2025.

Angela Bassett’s Personal Life, Advocacy, and Beliefs

Angela Bassett married actor Courtney B. Vance in 1997. They met at Yale School of Drama and became a couple after meeting again in Los Angeles. In 2005, they starred together in His Girl Friday at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. The couple has twins born via surrogate.

Bassett supports arts programs, especially for youth. She regularly attends events for children with diabetes and those in foster care. As an active UNICEF Ambassador, she helps raise awareness in the U.S. She also supports the Royal Theater Boys & Girls Club in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Angela Bassett is represented by the Executive Speakers Bureau in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2007, she donated $2,300 to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and supported his re-election in 2012. She appeared at his campaign office in St. Petersburg and encouraged others to vote.

Bassett also endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. She spoke at the Democratic National Convention and introduced survivors of the Charleston church shooting. After Clinton lost, Bassett tweeted support for her and looked forward to the next election.

Bassett was made an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority in 2013. She is a Pentecostal Evangelical Christian and attends the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles.

Angela Bassett’s Awards and Honors

In 2018, Angela Bassett received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Yale University. In 2022, she also got an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Old Dominion University.

Throughout her career, Bassett has earned many awards and nominations. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Black Panther. She also received two Critics’ Choice Awards. Bassett has been nominated for two Academy Awards, nine Emmy Awards, and a BAFTA Award. Her Oscar nomination for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022 was the first time an actor got an Oscar nomination for a Marvel movie role.

In January 2024, she was honored with an Academy Honorary Award at The Governors Awards for her lifetime achievements in film.

Angela Bassett’s Hancock Park Home Sale

In 2007, Angela Bassett decided to sell her home after living there for more than ten years. She bought the house in Hancock Park in the early ’90s. The house is large, with almost 5,000 square feet of space.

Bassett and her husband, Courtney B. Vance, set the asking price at $6 million. The home has a big outdoor area and a gourmet kitchen that leads into a family room.

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