As enduring talents and beauties go, few can rival the levels of striking Angela Bassett possesses.

And the living legend reaffirms that on the cover of Emmy Magazine’s latest issue.

The 62-year-old glows in the John Russo lensed spread – which arrives ahead of the return of her hit TV show ‘9-1-1.’

Beyond posing it up for the stunning shoot, Bassett reflects on her humble beginnings and selectiveness with her roles. A practice she says has always been about presenting positive images of Black womanhood.

Peep pics and quotes below…

On Being Selective With Her Roles From The Start: 

“Early on I auditioned for a small, small part where a character takes this woman’s head and pushes it down into a bowl of dog food. There I was, living in my $213-a-month apartment and thinking, ‘If I don’t take this role, I’m at the unemployment office.’ But even though I was just starting out, I knew I could not be so desperate.

I thought, ‘I’d rather stand in that line [at the unemployment office] than take something that would degrade Black women or the Black female experience.'”

On Her Breakthrough Role In 1992’s ‘Critters 4’:

“In most movies, if you are the Black woman, you are the girlfriend to the best friend of the white guy who is the lead. But in that little low-budget movie that I think we filmed at a Smart & Final [market] in Los Angeles, I was one of the leads. I didn’t disappear after the first act. I didn’t die. I wasn’t the sacrificial lamb.

And it was shot out of sequence, so I could use it as a training ground, figure out how to craft a character that way. And if I fell on my face, it wouldn’t be in front of the whole world. Just fans of the ‘Critters’ franchise — and they were on number four, so there had to be some.”

Beautiful!

Click here to buy the full issue.

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[Photo Credit: Emmy / John Russo]