ANGELA BASSETT (MINI-PHOTOSPREAD) IN MONARCH MAGAZINE.

The beautiful and ageless actress/author/married-mother-of-two Angela Bassett graces the cover of the latest issue of Monarch magazine, respectively. While reading the article, I realized that there was nothing in it that we don't already know about her. However, there were a couple of lines that got my attention. Although it's no secret that Angela has portrayed several strong African-American women--real and fiction--(i.e. Dr. Betty Shabazz, Rosa Parks, 'Bernadine Harris'), did you all know that Ms. Bassett hasn't had to audition for any role--television or film--since making her triumphant and unforgettable Academy Award nominating performance as Anna Mae Bullock/Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It? in 1992? Or that she beat out Robin Givens and Halle Berry for the starring role?

Bassett cites veteran actors such as Cicely Tyson, Ruby Dee, Bette Davie and Scat Man Caruthers as her past and present inspirations. When asked what she might be doing if not acting, she believes she would probably be a teacher. Bassett graduated with a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale School of Drama in 1983. She is no longer waiting to exhale, but instead taking in every breath and letting it out with every hug she receives from her family, applause she gets from the audience and the excitement she has when choosing her next project. On September 19, 2008, Bassett will star in a film entitled Nothing But the Truth. Bassett plays the supportive editor-in-chief at a Washington, D.C. newspaper. The film is a political thriller about a D.C. reporter who rats out a CIA agent and is imprisoned for refusing to name her source. Pulled from a true story, the plot is sure to be a thrill ride, according to Monarch magazine.

Check out the mini-photospread of Ms. Bassett in Monarch magazine below. Click 'em to see 'em. Beautiful, isn't she? And if you all haven't checked out Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns, please do so. It's funny as hell. And I'm not just saying that because Lamman Rucker is in it! *wink* *wink* Lamman plays a gynecologist...or as Leroy Brown calls it, a 'gonorrhea-cologist'! LOL!

.....