Angela Bassett’s scene-stealing performance as Queen Ramonda in the global smash hit Black Panther and its sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has earned her a best supporting actress nomination for the 95th Academy Awards. It was not her first Oscar nomination, as she received a best actress nomination for her portrayal of Tina Turner in 1993’s Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It?.
This year marks a historic occasion in the academy’s history, as her nomination has made her the first black person, the first woman, and the first Marvel Cinematic Universe actor to be nominated for a performance in a comic book adaptation in the MCU’s 16-year lifespan.
Basset plays Queen Ramonda, the steadfast queen of the isolationist African nation of Wakanda, in the wake of her son’s death, King T’challa. The death of T’challa came in the wake of actor Chadwick Boseman’s death from colon cancer.
Basset spoke about the grief over losing the young actor in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter:
“Here we are years later, decades later, in a scene portraying grief. And I’m experiencing grief, having lost this dear, dear brother, who plays my son. We are all going through this grief. I mean, literal tears every day on the set as we’re sitting on the set where we sat with him, not knowing what we now know as we try to strike lightning again.”
Basset is not the only woman of color nominated for the best supporting actress role this year. She competes with Michelle Yeoh, who gave a heartfelt, relatable performance in the multiverse and genre-spanning epic: Everything Everywhere All At Once.
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