On Tuesday night, Angela Bassett made history as the two-time Golden Globe winner for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. The 64-year-old actress was awarded for her portrayal of Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
During her acceptance speech, Bassett paid tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, the lead actor in the Marvel movie’s franchise.
This was the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards and Bassett reflected on the journey her and her cast took to this monumental night.
“January 22, 1994, I stood on this stage and accepted the Golden Globe for What’s Love Got to Do With It,” an emotional Bassett began, marking her first Golden Globe win in 29 years. “The late Toni Morrison said that, ‘Your life is already a miracle of chance just waiting for you to order its destiny,’ but in order for that destiny to manifest, I think that it requires courage to have faith, it requires patience, as we just heard, and it requires a true sense of yourself.”
She continued, “It’s not easy because the past is circuitous, and it has many unexpected detours but by the grace of God I stand here. I stand here grateful, grateful to the Hollywood Foreign Press for giving me this honor, along with Wakanda Forever. Grateful to my amazing team who each and every day they worked along with me and beside me and on my behalf, each and every day grateful to my family, Courtney B. Vance, Bronwyn and Slater, I love you from the depths of my heart. And my mother always said good things come to those who pray. I see the truth of that every day as we welcome each new day as a family.”
Bassett then turned her attention to her Marvel family and the late Black Panther himself.
“To my Marvel Disney family, Ryan Coogler, Victoria Alonzo and Nate Moore, the cast and the crew, weeping may come in the evening, but joy comes in the morning,” Bassett gushed. “We embarked on this journey together with love, we mourned, we loved, we healed, and we were surrounded each and every day by the light and the spirit of Chadwick Boseman.”
“We have joy in knowing that, well, with this historic Black Panther series, it is a part of his legacy that he helped to lead us to. We showed the world what Black unity, leadership, and love looks like beyond, behind, and in front of the camera,” she continued. “And to the Marvel fans, thank you for embracing these characters and showing us so much love. We just made history with this nomination and with this award. It belongs to all of you, all of us.”
Actress Angela Bassett is celebrating her win at the 2021 Golden Globe Awards, having taken home the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This is Bassett’s second Golden Globe honor, with her first win coming in 1994 for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her portrayal of Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It.
Her emotional performance in the sequel to Black Panther has also earned her considerable awards season buzz, with nominations for a Critics Choice Movie Award, AARP Movies for Grownups Award and various critics groups. In addition, the Black Panther sequel was nominated for Best Original Song, while the first instalment won Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 2019 SAG Awards.