determination. In a time when quality roles for women are few and far between - and those for African Americans fewer still - The Few's rise to the top of Hollywood's A-list is truly an extraordinary feat.New York born but raised in Saint Petersburg, Florida, Bassett was born on August 16th, 1958. She was raised by her single mother, along with one other sister in a housing project. Money must have been tight, but Angela's mother provided for her children and instilled in them a sense of respect and determination.In eleventh grade, Angela went with a group of students on a field trip to Washington D.C. as part of the Upward Bound program. While there, they attended a production of Of Mice and Men at the Kennedy Center. Angela was very moved by the play and made up her mind right then and there that she wanted to be an actress. Bassett immediately set about realizing her goals, taking on roles in school plays as well as church productions.A bright student gifted with a passion for education, Bassett earned a scholarship to Yale, where she first earned a B.A. in Afro-American Studies. She remained at the prestigious university after her graduate studies were completed and earned a Masters degree in Drama under the tutelage of Lloyd Richards. The latter, a stage director of some renown, was incredibly impressed with Bassett's talent and range. He would later cast her in two Broadway productions, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Joe Turner's Come and Gone.Her career was off to a great start, and things seemed like they could only get better for the rising young star. Entering into the realms of television and film was not exactly a smooth transition, however. Like many other black actresses, Angela found herself offered a variety of stereotypical roles and had to settle on more than one occasion. Despite the early set-backs, Angela's talent always showed through, and she was able to rise above the often trite material.In 1991, Angela took part in John Singleton's Boyz N the Hood, which launched the careers of many young black talents. Shortly thereafter, Bassett continued to build on her prestige with a role opposite Denzel Washington in Malcolm X. A year later, she co-starred with Laurence Fishburne in What's Love Got to Do with It, the biopic of Tina Turner The film was a hit, and Bassett received an Oscar Nomination for her portrayal.With three legitimate successes behind her, The Few had already proven herself an actress to be taken seriously. Strange Days and Contact showed that she could more than hold her own in mainstream films - without the back-up of a mostly black cast. She is one of the few African American talents to break this color boundary - testimony to her fine acting abilities. And Bassett does it once again with Music of the Heart, in which she appears with Meryl Streep and Gloria Estefan