Angela Bassett becomes first Oscar-nominated Marvel actress

Angela Bassett becomes first Oscar-nominated Marvel actress

After 15 years and 30 films, an actor from the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally received an Academy Award nomination.

When the nods for the 2023 Oscars were announced Tuesday, included among the Best Supporting Actress nominees was Angela Bassett for her role as Queen Ramonda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

Before now, none of Marvel’s slew of A-listers — including Oscar nominees and winners Robert Downey Jr., Cate Blanchett, the late Chadwick Boseman, Brie Larson and Natalie Portman — have been nominated for their work in an MCU movie. 

The most high-profile nomination Marvel has received till now was Best Picture for the original “Black Panther” in 2019, which it did not win. That film did, however, take home three technical awards (costumes, score and production design).

The Post review called “Wakanda Forever,” “the best-acted MCU movie ever.”


This year, Angela Bassett has already won a Golden Globe Award and received a SAG Award nomination.
This year, Angela Bassett has already won a Golden Globe and received a SAG Award nomination. Invision

It’s been a fruitful award season for Bassett, 64. Earlier this month, she won the Golden Globe Award for actress in a motion picture — drama, and received a SAG Award nomination for female actor in a supporting role.

In her Globes acceptance speech, the actress paid tribute to Boseman, who died in 2020 from colon cancer. 

“We loved and we healed and we were surrounded each and every day by the light and the spirit of Chadwick Boseman,” she said. “And we have joy in knowing that with this historic ‘Black Panther’ series, it is part of his legacy that he helped to lead us to.”