Angela Bassett finally gets her Oscar after 30 years

Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks and Carol Littleton will receive honorary Oscars at this year’s Governors Awards, said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Honorary Award is “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or outstanding service to the Academy.”

The Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter will also receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The four recipients will be presented with their statuettes at the 14th annual ceremony on November 18 in Los Angeles. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said all four had been “recognised as trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of film-makers and movie fans”.

Bassett is getting an honorary Oscar 30 years after she was first nominated. The veteran actress was first nominated for best actress for playing Tina Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do with It. This year, she earned her second nomination for supporting actress for her role as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This made her the first woman and the first Marvel Studios actor to be nominated for a performance in a comic book adaptation. Fans were shocked when she did not win. 

The Black Panther star will now hold an Oscar statuette after three decades. Besides Black Panther, Bassett is also famed for her roles in films like Malcolm X, Music of the Heart and Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and Boyz N the Hood.

“Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting,” Academy President Janet Yang said.