Though born on August 16, 1958 in New York, NY, Bassett was raised in St. Petersburg, FL where she attended Jordan Elementary and Azalea Junior High. She moved on to Boca Ciega High School, becoming the first African-American student from the school to be accepted into the National Honor Society. Bassett later attended the Yale School of Drama where she began a valuable association with the dean, celebrated stage director Lloyd Richards, who later directed the actress on Broadway in two August Wilson plays: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (1985) and "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" (1988).

Bassett's onscreen career began in 1985 with a guest shot on the ABC detective drama "Spenser: For Hire" and a brief turn as a hooker on the CBS miniseries "Doubletake.” While the action thriller "F/X" (1986) marked her move into features, Bassett remained more regularly employed in TV during the late 1980s and early 90s with guest shots, brief stints as recurring characters and roles in high-profile TV-movies and miniseries. Some fans may remember her from the "Spencer" spin-off, "A Man Called Hawk" (ABC, 1989), as Avery Brooks' "pseudo-cryptic clandestine girlfriend" (her phrase). Bassett registered more strongly as the wife of ill-fated astronaut Ronald McNair in the 1990 ABC Theater presentation "Challenger.” She won raves for her portrayal of Katherine Jackson, Michael's mom, in the miniseries "The Jacksons: An American Dream" (ABC, 1992).

Bassett first gained notice in features as the estranged, ambitious wife of Laurence Fishburne in John Singleton's "Boyz in the Hood" (1991). Her impressive resume grew to include playing the "do-gooder" wife of politician Joe Morton in John Sayles' "City of Hope" (1991) and an outstanding portrayal of Betty Shabazz, the quietly strong wife of activist and preacher Malcolm X in Spike Lee's epic biopic "Malcolm X" (1992). A lean and pumped up Bassett earned raves, celebrity and a Best Actress Oscar nod in her debut as a feature lead in "What's Love Got To Do With It" (1993). Her riveting and thoroughly convincing portrayal of three decades in the life of pop icon Tina Turner transformed her career.

After a hiatus, Bassett returned to the screen with leads in three highly publicized 1995 Hollywood releases: the millennial sci-fi actioner "Strange Days," the Eddie Murphy horror comedy vehicle "Vampire in Brooklyn" and the adaptation of Terry McMillan's best-selling novel "Waiting to Exhale.” Whereas the first two films built upon her image as a strong black woman by giving her firearms and fangs, the latter paired her with recording superstar Whitney Houston in a character-driven comedy-drama that proved a box-office success. Bassett undertook another McMillan heroine playing a fortyish divorcee who embarks on a relationship with a much younger man in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" (1998). In 2002, Bassett was cast as Rosa Parks in the CBS biopic "The Rosa Parks Story.” For her portrayal of the civil rights icon, Bassett received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie.

Bassett turned in a finely etched performance as a Florida-born woman return to confront her tangled past in writer-director John Sayles' pleasing "Sunshine State" (2002). After appearing as herself on an episode of the Fox sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show" (Fox, 2001-06) she joined the series' titular star for the baseball comedy "Mr. 3000" (2004), playing a sexy, but tough-minded reporter who had a fling with a talented, but big-mouthed baseball player (Mac) trying to make a comeback after realizing he quit the game three hits shy of 3000.

In “Akeelah and the Bee” (2006), Bassett was the overprotective mother of a precocious 11-year-old (Keke Palmer) who tries to steer her daughter away from the pressures of the national spelling bee dominated by rich, privileged children so she can concentrate instead on her schoolwork. After a brief return to television as the Undersecretary of Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection in the terrorist thriller “Time Bomb” (CBS, 2006), Bassett voiced Mildred, the caretaker of the orphanage that houses Lewis (Jordan Fry), a boy genius and inventor whose search for a family leads him to discover time travel, a mysterious stranger (Wesley Singerman) and the futuristic Robinson family.