Thirty years after her first Oscar nomination, Black Panther and 9-1-1 star Angela Bassett is back at the Academy Awards as a nominee, but this time she'll be joined by her beloved husband Courtney B. Vance.
How long has Angela Bassett been married?
Courtney has been by the 64-year-old's side this entire awards season, and the two celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in October 2022. They first met in the early 1980s when they were both studying at Yale's School of Drama, but they didn't connect again until the mid-1990s when they crossed paths in Los Angeles.
Angela Bassett And Courtney B. Vance's Love Story
"I was single; he was single, and I had such an appreciation for him over those years — of his consistency, how he treated other people, of what a supporter he is, what a connector of people and ideas he is, how passionate he is," Angela previously revealed - although it wasn't love at first sight, as she once admitted the first date was hardly memorable.
"He just seemed like a really, really nice guy, which translated to kind of boring. That was it. Wasn't gonna give him a second thought," she told Oprah Winfrey in 2007 of their 1994 date.
Luckily, the actress gave him a second chance and by 1997 the two were married. But in the lead up to the big day, things were complicated for the pair, as Anglela was preparing for her work in the acclaimed How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and she had asked for them to abstain from sex for the year.
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Angela and Courtney in 1997 the year they married
"We knew this relationship was so special we decided to abstain from sex until after we were married," Courtney once revealed, with Angela adding: "That was my brilliant idea, but it wasn't easy. Actually, one night, I did beg Courtney to give in."
The 62-year-old actor stepped up and stepped into Angela's world though, and that is something that Angela will forever be grateful for: "He shows up for you. Not just for me, but for any of his friends, whoever he loves, or whatever mentee may reach out to him."
"Staying together so long, whether in the industry or not, I think the important thing is that you gotta marry the right person," Angela told People magazine in 2021. "Make sure you're both looking in the same direction, basically. You're not clones of each other, but you have similar or closest similar belief systems and, you know, pleasant personalities."
Do Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance have children?
The pair tried for many years to have children and underwent seven years of unsuccessful fertility treatments.
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Angela and Courtney with their twins, Slater and Bronwym
"I was devastated when it didn't happen [again and again]," said Angela. "I had to remain hopeful and resilient and, 'Okay, let's do it again.'"
A close friend then shared how she was expecting a baby via surrogacy, and it soon went from an idea to reality for the pair, who welcomed twins Bronwyn and Slate on January 27 2006.
"Just standing there together, holding each other with the realization that this is the moment that we've been working toward, praying for…[it's a dream come true]," Angela emotionally shared at the time.It's their role as parents that has really given them both perspective - even if Angela has to play good cop. "He is usually pretty calm but he is consistent," the actress once said of her husband, revealing that even when he is miles away from home, "he can still get them to hop to it".
Mom, however, has to "guilt trip them or pull things away or just leave the room". "Just throw my hands up and go to my own corner and try to think of some other way to get them to do what they know they need to do,' she told James Corden on The Late Late Show.
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How did Angela Bassett become famous?
Angela's breakthrough role was playing Tina Turner in the 1993 film What's Love Got to Do with It. She received an Oscar nomination and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.
Angela starred as Tina in the award-winning film
She went on to be nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Daytime Emmy Awards, and she has also appeared in Boyz n the Hood (1991), Olympus Has Fallen (2013), and London Has Fallen (2016). On TV she portrayed Rosa Parks in the television film The Rosa Parks Story, starred in two seasons of the FX horror anthology series American Horror Story, and now stars and produces in the Fox drama series 9-1-1.
She has appeared in several Marvel's Avengers films as Queen Ramonda. Her secondOscar nomination in 2023 is for her work in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
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What is Courtney B. Vance famous for?
Courtney won an Emmy in 2016 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a limited series or movie for his role as Johnnie Cochran in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
"And last but not least, to the woman that rocks my chain! Angela Evelyn Bassett, this one is for you, girl!" Courtney concluded at the end of his speech.
He won a second Emmy, for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, in 2020 for his work in the HBO series Lovecraft Country.
Courtney has been by Angela's side the whole season
He starred in the original productions of August Wilson's Fences in 1985, earning his first Tony Award nomination, and in 2013 won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, for Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy.
How many Oscars does Angela Bassett have?
On Sunday March 12 at the 95th Oscars, Angela may win her first Oscar. She was nominated in 1993 for her role as Tina turner in the biopic What's Love Got To Do With It.
Courtney will be by her side, with her two children also expected to be in attendance, and whether the actress wins or loses the little gold man, Angela and Courtney have already won the game of life.
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