Angela Bassett Shares the Highs & Lows of Raising Her College-Bound Twins — From Mom Guilt to Life Lessons
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Even Oscar-winner Angela Bassett isn’t immune to the struggles of parenting. The 9-1-1 star — who has acted in more than 100 roles during her iconic career! — recently opened up about the highs and lows of parenting her 18-year-old twins Bronwyn and Slater, who she shares with Emmy-winning actor Courtney B. Vance, in a poignant new interview.
Bassett revealed in a new cover story with PEOPLE that she has mom guilt during her long hours of acting and producing, which often sees her leaving her home in the dark before sunrise and returning in the dark after sunset. But hope gets her through.
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Role Model
“I hope that what will come out of that is that they see a mama, a woman, a Black woman achieving her dreams, having success,” she told the outlet. “They’ll see that hard work pays off. And they’ll be about that life for themselves.” I know that’s right!
The 65-year-old shared that her kids are already very independent and self-sufficient, even when it comes to dinnertime. “Now it’s a switch. They’re older,” the Damsel star explained. “They like to DoorDash. I’m like, ‘I’m going to cook tonight.’ [They go], ‘Oh, mom, my meal’s coming in five minutes.’ So much for me being spontaneous,” she added with a laugh.
Something Bassett hopes her twins bring with them when they leave for college in the fall? Always looking to the good things in life.
Life Advice
“One of the things that always that I say to myself and to my kids is, ‘Find the good and praise it,’” Bassett told PEOPLE, which is fabulous advice. In her life, she’s had a “confluence of wondrous events” that include her twins turning 18, her career flourishing, and her first Oscar win.
“The fact that it’s happening all at the same time, it can be a little overwhelming unless you just breathe through it and remember to be grateful,” she continued. “For all of it. For what you prayed for, what you worked for, for what you dreamed of.”
Racism
That doesn’t mean that they haven’t faced challenges in their lives, though. In 2018, when the twins were just 12, Bassett said on The Jess Cagle Interview, per PEOPLE, that her twins have had to deal with racism.
“Even from the age of four, from preschool, they’ve had to deal with — and as crazy as it seems or sounds — color issues,” she said. “Or because they were African Americans, and whether other kids will play with them or have issue with that.”
Bassett added, “It makes you gasp and it just squeezes your heart sometimes, because you never want your kids to go through these sort of pain issues. Or you thought it’d be much later, once they get a firm footing of who they are.”
‘Awesome’ Kids
In an Oct. 2022 interview with Glamour, the Black Panther star revealed her sweet kids were already making their own beds at 18 months old (!!). “They’re awesome young people, by and large, very kind, very thoughtful, very appreciative,” she told the outlet.
It sounds like these twins are going to be just fine.
Before you go, check out what these celeb parents had to say about their kids heading off to college.
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