Angela Bassett Remembers Diahann Carroll and Cicely Tyson for Giving Her the ‘Courage to Stay the Course’
variety.comMarc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Angela Bassett goes into the Oscars as a supporting actress nominee for her work in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The first and last time she was nominated was 29 years ago for “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” On Wednesday night, she recalled her early days in Hollywood. “When I came into this business, the path was not clear,” Bassett said while being honored at Time magazine’s Women of the Year gala at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. “I grew up at a time when it was a special occasion when people who looked like me were featured on the television screen or movie screen or in the theaters.
But it was women like Rosalind and Ruby Dee and Diahann Carroll and Cicely Tyson, whose perseverance and resilience led me to have courage — courage to stay the course no matter what the obstacles.” Fellow honoree Quinta Brunson spoke about the importance of laughter in her life. “It’s hard to put into words what I feel when I watch somebody have a good laugh.
I mean a good one, a genuine one that a person can’t hold in,” the “Abbot Elementary” star said. She continued, “Life is hard, very very hard — from trying to pay rent, to raising children, to extreme global tragedies to what could be considered small tragedies in our personal lives.
I experienced a lot of death last year…while I was making “Abbott” and winning awards and all that, even today my uncle just passed away, but I’m here.
Read more on variety.com