She had success starring in Boyz n the Hood (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Waiting to Exhale (1995), Vampire in Brooklyn (1995), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), and Music of the Heart (1999).

In 2018, Bassett began producing and starring as an LAPD patrol sergeant, Athena Grant in the Fox drama series 9-1-1.

Bassett said the pregnancy "only made things harder", leading her parents to send her to her father's sister, Golden, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

"[10] As her interest in entertainment developed, Angela and her sister would often put on shows, reading poems or performing popular music for their family.

[12] At Boca Ciega High School, Bassett was a cheerleader and a member of the Upward Bound college prep program, the debate team, student government, drama club and choir.

She appeared in two August Wilson plays at the Yale Repertory Theatre under the direction of her long-time instructor Lloyd Richards; these were Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984), and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1986).

(Decades later in 2006, she had the opportunity to work on the Wilson canon again, starring in Fences alongside longtime collaborator Laurence Fishburne at the Pasadena Playhouse in California.)

[17] Bassett earned industry attention and public recognition for her early performances in the films Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Malcolm X (1992).

[18] During production, director Spike Lee showed Bassett a tape of the exact moment when Malcolm X was shot, since they would be filming the scene.

Bassett felt it was important for her to get the assassination scene correct, and wondered how Betty "found the strength to keep going, to raise her family, to educate, to sustain them.

[21] Bassett won the lead role over Halle Berry and Robin Givens, but had only one month to prepare before filming began.

(Despite the acclaim, Bassett later said in a 2022 interview on Today with Hoda & Jenna, that after portraying Turner, she did not receive acting calls for about a year and a half.)

[30] Stephen Holden of The New York Times said Bassett's character was "the best thing in the movie" and wrote the actress "portrays this high-strung superwoman with such intensity that she makes her almost believable.

[35][36] Her other two films released in 2000 were Whispers: An Elephant's Tale and Boesman and Lena, the latter adapted from the play of the same name by South African Athol Fugard.

At the time of the film's release, she described both Bernie Mac and Laurence Fishburne, whom she had worked with in the past, her "favorites" and said the pair were both "highly professional and extraordinarily talented.

[55][56] Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that Bassett's "fiery self-possession brings a spark of passion to her stick-figure character".

[60][61] She portrayed Dr. Catherine Banfield, an exacting Chief of the ER who was also working to recover from the death of a son and to bring another child into her family.

[66][67] In 2010, Bassett lent her voice to portray First Lady Michelle Obama[68] on an episode of The Simpsons titled "Stealing First Base".

[69] Bassett was also cast in the superhero film Green Lantern, released in 2011, as notable DC Comics character Amanda Waller.

[77] Bassett and Devine were noted as "superb, distinguished actresses" by Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter, but were seen as having been "asked to overdo every moment with permanent scowls and body language more suitable to Mortal Kombat.

[82] Tambay A. Obenson of IndieWire attributed Bassett's lack of appearances in promotional material to her having a small role and her demographic not being targeted by the film.

[87] Mary J. Blige, when asked about what kind of experience it was to work with Bassett, said that she was "one of Angela's biggest fans" while calling her an "amazing woman.

Bassett appeared as Secret Service director Lynne Jacobs in the action thriller Olympus Has Fallen, released on March 22, 2013.

[94] In 2013, Bassett appeared on FX TV show American Horror Story: Coven[73] as Marie Laveau, a voodoo witch.

[100] In a negative review of the film, Mark Kermode lamented Bassett "appears from behind closed doors like a celebrity guest on Stars in Their Eyes.

[107] Executive producer and director Anthony Hemingway said her character "was written with Angela in mind" and that the entire cast came to see Bassett the day she filmed her performance.

[110] The writers of the series also favored Bassett for the role after seeing her performance in The Jacksons: An American Dream and related her character's evolution in that feature to Catherine.

[112] She plays officer Athena Grant, wife to Robert Nash, and during the show's fifth season in 2022, the character made an appearance in an episode of its spin-off, 9-1-1: Lone Star.

[113] In February 2018, Bassett starred in the acclaimed Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Black Panther as Queen Ramonda, mother of the titular character; she briefly reprised the role the following year in Avengers: Endgame.

Her Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), marked the first time an actor was Oscar-nominated for a role in a Marvel film.