Bassett's subsequent roles have included the "Buppie" wife of Larry Fishburne in John Singleton's BOYZ N THE HOOD (1991), the "do-gooder" wife of Joe Morton in John Sayles's CITY OF HOPE (1991), and Betty Shabazz, the quietly strong wife of activist and preacher Malcolm X in Spike Lee's epic biopic MALCOLM X (1992). Her many TV credits include the ill-fated series "Stat" (1991) and the five-hour miniseries "The Jacksons: An American Dream" (1992), in which she played Katherine Jackson, mother of the famed singing group.
Bassett played her first lead in features in WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT (1993) as rock 'n' roll icon Tina Turner over the course of 30 years of her career. The film garnered critical praise and an Oscar® nomination for Best Actress, but was overshadowed at the box office by the giant films of that summer.
Other notable screen credits include CITY OF HOPE (1991), PASSION FISH and INNOCENT BLOOD (both 1992), VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN and WAITING TO EXHALE (both 1995), CONTACT (1997), HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK (1998), MUSIC OF THE HEART (1999), SUPERNOVA and BOESMAN AND LENA (both 2000), THE SCORE (2001), "The Rosa Parks Story" (TV in the title role) and SUNSHINE STATE (both 2002), MASKED and ANONYMOUS (2003), THE LAZARUS CHILD and MR. 3000 (both 2004), AKEELAH AND THE BEE (2006), OF BOYS AND MEN and GOSPEL HILL (both 2007), MEET THE BROWNS and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (both scheduled for 2008), and TOSSAINT (scheduled for 2009).
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 1993: WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT
1 nomination