Angela Bassett Thanks Fans in Emotional Disney Legends Acceptance Speech at D23: 'YouAre the Magic'

Mar. 15, 2025

Angela Bassett at the Disney Legends award ceremony during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim, California, on Aug. 11, 2024.Photo:The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company

Angela Bassettis a Disney Legend!

“To the fans,youare the magic,” said Bassett, 65. “There are not enough words to let you know how much I appreciate you, how much I love you. I stand here today because you have [bought] the tickets, you have watched the television shows, you have cheered me on my best days and lifted me up on the more difficult ones. Thank you, always.”

She also thanked her “family and friends and team,” saying that their “encouragement and support have been a constant source of strength and inspiration” and that she is “forever proud to be your wife, your mother, your sister, your auntie and your friend.”

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Bassett has been a Disney fixture for 17 years, voicing characters inMeet the Robinsons(2007) andSoul(2020) as well as starring as Queen Ramonda inBlack Panther(2018) and its 2022 sequelBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, the latter of which earned her a secondOscarnomination.

The actress — who was previously nominated for an Academy Award for 1994’sWhat’s Love Got to Do with Itandtook home an honorary Oscarearlier this year — said during her D23 speech thatThe Princess and the Frogis one Disney film that “immediately comes to mind” for her “as an example of their legacy of imaginative storytelling.”

“For me, it has all the right ingredients: a story set in [the]city of New Orleans. We sprinkle the good food and good jazz music and a beautiful groundbreaking Black princess,” added Bassett, who was outfitted in a hot-pinkNadine Merabiset for her big moment.

She also noted her “extraordinary privilege of working throughout my career, throughout the Disney universe, including film and television documentaries and animation, as well as the wonderland that [is] the Disney theme parks.”

Angela Bassett inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever(2022).Annette Brown/Marvel

“But I have done none of this alone. From day one in my pursuit of a career as an actress, I have understood that I am a part of something greater than myself,” she said.

The actress went on to “offer my deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported me on this journey,” including “cast members and current creators who make what you do and what you see possible.”

“Casting directors, studio execs, costume designers, directors, producers, thank you. I share this honor with all of you,” she added in her speech.

Bassett concluded, “And to everyone in this room, let us all continue to inspire, to nurture, to encourage future generations, not only with the stories we tell, but with the worlds that we create together. Thank you once again for recognizing me as a Disney Legend.”

source: people.com