Has Angela Bassett ever won an Oscar? Actress opens up about disappointing 2023 loss to Jamie Lee Curtis

Angela Bassett’s 2023 Oscar loss to Jaime Lee Curtis is still fresh in the legendary actress’ mind. In a recent interview with Town & Country Magazine, the Black Panther actress relived the aftermath of losing the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in March 2023. Bassett had been nominated for playing Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, Curtis took the Oscar home that night, recognized for her role as Deirdre Beaubeirdre in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

In 2024, Angela Bassett was awarded an Oscar, though. The actress was recognized for her achievements in the art of acting during the 14th Governors Awards, where she received an honorary Oscar.

Speaking to the audience after accepting the award in January 2024, Bassett called attention to the Black actresses that came before her. She said,

“For me, those trailblazing actors, like Ruby Dee, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Rosalind Cash, they were my North Star and my guiding light - proof that while the road may not be without curves and bumps, there was a way to fulfill what I believed deep in my soul was my destiny.”

As Angela Bassett recognized in the speech, only a handful of Black actresses have been awarded an Academy Award. Bassett acknowledged the contributions of Hattie McDaniel, the first Black woman to receive an Oscar for her supporting role in Gone with the Wind back in 1940. Whoopi Goldberg also achieved a milestone when she won the same award in 1990 for Ghost.

Bassett also spoke about Halle Berry, who remains the only Black woman to have won the Best Actress Oscar. Bassett put these achievements in the context of a quote by Martin Luther King Jr., which she had been deeply influenced by. Bassett explained,

“We're days away from Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. And something he once said touched my spirit in thinking about what I would say this evening, 'We are not makers of history. We are made by history.'"

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Angela Bassett’s previous Academy Award nominations

The Yale-educated actress (who won the Creative Arts Emmy in 2024) had been nominated for two Academy Awards in the past. Angela Bassett’s role as music icon Tina Turner for What's Love Got to Do with It in 1994 led to an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Bassett unfortunately lost out on the award to actress Holly Hunter for her role in Jane Campion’s The Piano.

The 2023 Oscar loss was Bassett’s second nomination. This time around, Bassett was sure she was going to win the coveted award. The sentiment was echoed by Oprah Winfrey as the two spoke on Oprah’s OWN Spotlight a year ago. Oprah said,

“30 years after you were nominated for What's Love Got to Do with It but didn't win, so I just knew your name was going to be called. And then when they didn't, I was beside myself.”

Bassett and Oprah were discussing the internet’s reaction to Bassett’s expressions during the 2023 Academy Awards. Bassett, who tried to maintain her composure as Curtis was named winner, didn’t clap or stand. Her expressions went viral on social media as both supporters and detractors engaged in debate. Bassett said to Oprah,

“It was, of course, a supreme disappointment. And disappointment is human. So I thought, yes, I was disappointed, and I handled it like a human being.”

In the Town & Country Magazine interview, the Zero Day thespian relayed her dismay at being publicly criticized for expressing her surprise and dissatisfaction. She added that she felt she deserved the recognition, saying,

“I have put in: put in the time, put in good work over time. I didn’t think that was a gift. I thought it was a given.”

Fans and supporters of Angela Bassett, who is set to appear again in series 9-1-1, one of the greats of Hollywood, appreciate the honor that was bestowed upon her by the Academy later during the Governors Awards, which is seen as a step in the right direction in terms of representation in the film industry.