Angela Bassett first appeared in the American television soap opera, ‘Search for Tomorrow’ in 1985. She played the role of ‘Salina McCulla’ and starred in 10 episodes of the show. The following year, she made her big-screen debut in the American action thriller film ‘F/X’ directed by Robert Mandel. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a financial success, grossing over $20.6 million on a budget of $10 million. Following her debut, she went on to star in films like ‘Kindergarten Cop’ (1990), ‘Critters 4’ (1991), ‘Boyz n the Hood’ (1991), ‘City of Hope’ (1991), and ‘Innocent Blood’ (1992). In 1992, she portrayed ‘Betty Shabazz’ in the American epic biographical drama film ‘Malcolm X’ directed by Spike Lee. The film opened to wide critical acclaim and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2010. Bassett received an Academy Award nomination for her performance as ‘Anna Mae Bullock / Tina Turner’ in the 1993 American biographical film ‘What's Love Got to Do with It’ directed by Brian Gibson. The film opened to critical acclaim and did decent business at the box office. She continued to star in films like ‘Panther’ (1995), ‘Strange Days’ (1995), ‘Contact’ (1997), ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’ (1998), ‘Our Friend, Martin’ (1999), ‘Supernova’ (2000), ‘The Score’ (2001), ‘Sunshine State’ (2002), ‘Unchained Memories’ (2003), ‘The Lazarus Child’ (2004), ‘Akeelah and the Bee’ (2006), ‘Meet the Robinsons’ (2007), ‘Meet the Browns’ (2008), ‘Nothing But the Truth’ (2008), and ‘Notorious’ (2009).
In 2011, she played the role of ‘Amanda Waller’ in the American superhero film ‘Green Lantern’ directed by Martin Campbell. The film was panned by critics and was a box office disappointment. The following year, she starred as ‘Sarah Collins’ in the McG-directed American romantic comedy spy film ‘This Means War.’ Despite receiving a lukewarm response from critics, the film managed to gross over $156.5 million on a $65 million budget. In 2013, she portrayed ‘Marie Laveau’ in ‘American Horror Story: Coven,’ the third season of the FX horror anthology television series ‘American Horror Story.’ The season lasted 13 episodes and aired its finale in 2014. Bassett continued to appear in television series like ‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’ (2014-2015), ‘American Horror Story: Hotel’ (2015-2016), ‘BoJack Horseman’ (2015-2018), ‘American Horror Story: Roanoke’ (2016), ‘Underground’ (2017), ‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse’ (2018), ‘9-1-1’ (2018-present), ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’ (2019), ‘What If...?’ (2021), and ‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ (2022). She last appeared on the American daytime television variety talk show ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ in 2022.