Angela Bassett

REFLECTS ON HER ST. PETE START.

Award-winning actress Angela Bassett has made a career of portraying reallife heroes—pioneering women like Rosa Parks, Betty Shabazz, Coretta Scott King and Tina Turner.

“At their core, they're extraordinarily strong, very intelligent women, very driven…very caring,” she explained. "They're women who have sacrificed…women who've been an inspiration.”

Bassett herself embodies these same qualities—strength, intelligence, warmth and incredible drive. And while she projects a formidable and sophisticated public persona, that is only part of the story. One-on-one, she’s unexpectedly down to earth, with a hearty laugh and a way of finishing her thoughts with the inviting phrase, 'You know?' And before long, you truly feel as though you do know.

Born in New York, her early childhood included time in North Carolina before settling with her mother in St. Pete, which felt more like a small town at the time. It was here that she became interested in acting and performed in her first production at the St. Petersburg Little Theatre (now called St. Petersburg City Theatre) during high school. She also became involved with the Upward Bound Program at Eckerd College and that led her to two life-changing experiences.

During a trip organized by the group to see John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, starring James Earl Jones, she was inspired to make others feel what she had experienced during that performance.

There also was a director of the program who saw something so special in her that he sent her to Washington, D.C. to participate in a prestigious educational program. It was a transformative trip and three years later, after his departure and her pending graduation, that director sent her mother a letter that read, “Dear Ms. Bassett, Tell Angela to apply to Yale, Harvard, etcetera.” She went on to attend both Yale University and Yale School of Drama.

“It was monumental,” she remembers thinking. “Somebody is watching you. And speaking into your life. When you have people who speak good into your life, it can make all the difference.”

When I ask what advice she has for those staring over their “small town” fence posts at the wide world out there, she offers a thoughtful take.

“There are some who are not interested in leaving their hometown. Respect! They're comfortable, they're engaged, they're fulfilled and content,” she says. “I was just one of those individuals with wanderlust. That's part of my personality and probably why I am in the profession that I'm in. Now, I love coming back to my small town. I love my St. Pete.”

In fact, she says that she visits regularly and is grateful she can enjoy being home without people making too much of a fuss over her.

“Any chance I get, I love to return because it's quite beautiful,” Bassett shares. “The people are lovely, cordial and thoughtful. I mean, people are nice to me all over, but I love folk from The Burg. As they say…it’s a vibe.”

This must be the case, as she happily shares her favorite local spots.

“I love going to the beach and I love Pass-a-Grille. There was a time where you could go early and it was just a few beautiful souls there. I went recently, after the hurricane, which was so sad. It’s going to take some time to bounce back,” she offers. “I enjoy finding restaurants and places that have a vibe, good food and good people. I really like The Urban Stillhouse and Baba. Bonu is a new one that I just discovered. Love going to Mazzaro's Italian Market, sitting at the counter for a coffee and something sweet.”

And, she continues, “I also love going to all the little vintage and consignment shops there. And just strolling around the pier, which looks so different than when I was growing up there. It's just beautiful!”

She says she is also aware of the incredible growth St. Pete is experiencing.

“I'm sure it's good for the infrastructure, for businesses, the shop owners and employment, but it is happening pretty rapidly. Getting into town used to be so easy, now there's always a traffic jam on 275 and parking can be a little difficult on Central, so there is that part,” she offers. “But I'm of a mixed mind—I love that it's being discovered, but I hope what's special about it will not be lost.”

Though she is best known for her career-defining performances in such iconic films as Malcolm X, Waiting to Exhale and What’s Love Got to Do with It, her recent roles have established her with a whole new generation of fans.

Younger viewers recognize her as regal Queen Ramonda in Marvel’s Black Panther films, as Athena Grant-Nash in the ABC drama series 9-1-1, CIA Director Erika Sloane in Mission: Impossible and as a Black female president, opposite Robert De Niro, in the recently released, six-part, political thriller series Zero Day on Netflix.

She explains how she feels about the significance of that role by offering, “It's something that we were so close to actually achieving in reality. The representation of it, as a woman, as a Black woman, I think, will have an impact that perhaps we'll see, if not today, if not tomorrow, maybe in a few years."

Considering her own influence on younger generations that have been inspired by her success, she grows reflective.

“What does it mean to me that young people are inspired by me?” she asks in response to my question. “That's pretty incredible, because that's not something that, as a young person or young artist, I concentrated on. It was all about gaining knowledge, doing the work, believing in myself, and refusing to be deterred.

The idea of being an inspiration is added to the journey much later. You’re further up the road. You look back and see young people just crossing the starting line. They may stumble or fall, but so imperative that they keep going if it’s what they want,” she continues. “I came along with others who shared the same dream, but they gave up at the first hurdles, seemingly because it wasn’t placed neatly in their hands. Or perhaps it looked that way to me because the struggle can seem overwhelming and the course unclear. My concern for today’s generation is that they persevere, remain resolute and determined. Slowly was the surest way to get there for me. It gave me time to develop into the person I am today.”

While she believes that determination was the driving force behind her success, she also acknowledges those who made room for her to succeed.

“When I sit back and look at it, the main thing I try to be is grateful. It’s not like I did it all on my own.” she asserts. “Yeah, I showed up with hard work and integrity, professionalism and a gift. But there are those who took a chance when the role wasn't written for a female or wasn’t written Black, and they gave it to me. So, I'm grateful for when the timing and the opportunity were in my favor, and I was ready.”

Her impact closer to home is something she’s given more thought to, specifically in regard to her children with her husband and fellow actor Courtney B. Vance. The couple is still adjusting to the absence of their twins, daughter Bronwyn and son Slater, who are currently out of the house, attending college.

“They're off to school, so Courtney and I are really getting used to….Oh, you know, the quiet,” she offers. “The noisiest person around here is the dog.”

Of her hopes of what she can impart to her children, who she refers to as “those two beautiful people,” she is clear.

“I hope that what will come out of that is that they see a mama, a woman, a Black woman achieving her dreams, having success,” she told People Magazine last year. “They’ll see that hard work pays off. And they’ll be about that life for themselves.”

She and Vance also have been careful in shielding their children from the spotlight, though they have been at some significant events with their parents in recent years, including when Bassett received her honorary Oscar.

“We’ve kept them away from a lot of it. But one lovely memory was when I received my star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. They were 18 months then. I remember saying, Mommy's getting a star on the Walk of Fame. They were 18 months then. And my son was in a highchair, and he said, ‘You my star.’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God,’” she recalls. “He could barely talk. So, I don't know how much he understood, but that was just so beautiful and remains one of the lovely things that he said over the years. They've come up with some gems.”

Upon accepting her honorary Oscar, she said, “I offer a lifetime and beyond of gratitude to my sister, D’nette, my husband, Courtney and our beautiful children, Bronwyn and Slater. They have each, in their own way, made space in our lives to allow me the freedom to be a sister, a mother, a wife and an actor. I love you wholly and deeply.”