Angela Bassett, Oscar nominee, is just doing her thing

By LESLIE AMBRIZ

Angela Bassett poses for a portrait at the 95th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 13, 2023. Bassett is nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Everyone but Angela Bassett is a first-time Oscar nominee, and even she is a first-timer in this category. But while Bassett seemingly has this locked up, there is a stunning breadth of experience among the supporting actress nominees, showing that breakout moments aren’t exclusively the territory of the very young.

All will be celebrated during Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, which airs live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern. And there’s still time to catch up on their performances before the show.

Here’s a bit more about this year’s contenders.

ANGELA BASSETT
It’s been 29 years since Angela Bassett’s last Oscar nomination, for playing Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” and though her nomination for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was widely expected, it still had a profound effect on her.

I’m literally sitting here holding my head, and holding my heart,” she told the AP nomination morning. “I’m excited, I’m grateful, I’m nervous. I’m going to have to start journaling.”

Her character, Queen Ramonda, she said, “is reflective of what mothers have been doing forever, and also a representation of what Black mothers have been doing — holding families together. Holding memories, holding wisdom… That’s what she is attempting to do in spite of the trauma she has experienced herself.”

And her late co-star Chadwick Boseman has never left her mind.

“This moment has been so special, it’s been a highlight of my career,” she said. “He definitely kicked it off.”

Age: 64