Angela Bassett stars as tough-as-nails attending physician Cate Banfield in NBC's long-running series "ER."

Bassett's talent as an actress and executive producer in both television and film have repeatedly earned her respect and acclaim from peers and fans alike, as she has proved herself to be one of the industry's premier leading ladies.

Bassett could be last seen on the big screen as the leading role in Tyler Perry's "Meet the Browns." Previously, she starred opposite Laurence Fishburne in the critically acclaimed "Akeelah and the Bee" for Lion's Gate Films. She also received rave reviews for her work in August Wilson's classic play "Fences" at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse. Bassett recently wrapped Giancarlo Esposito's "Gospel Hill" and "Nothing But the Truth," starring Kate Beckinsale and David Schwimmer. She will also star as Voletta Wallace, mother of slain rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace in "Notorious," due out January 2009.

Perhaps best known for her intense portrayal of Tina Turner in the biopic "What's Love Got to Do with It" opposite Fishburne, Bassett earned the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama as well as an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture. She also secured an Academy Award nomination for her powerful performance.

Bassett has also received NAACP Image Awards for her performance in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" as well as her supporting roles in "The Score," "Music of the Heart" and "Malcolm X" (opposite Denzel Washington). She was recognized for her leading role in the television movie "Ruby's Bucket of Blood," for which she also received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, bringing her total number of Image Awards to nine. In addition, Basset received NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Dr. Cate Banfield on ER, as well as for her work in the sci-fi feature blockbuster "Contact" and "Boesman and Lena," and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie for her work in "The Rosa Parks Story."

In addition to these awards and nominations, Basset has portrayed memorable roles in the features "Mr. 3000," "Sunshine State," "Waiting to Exhale," "Strange Days," "Vampire in Brooklyn" and "Supernova." Recently, Bassett could be heard in theaters across the country voicing the character of Mildred in Disney's animated smash hit "Meet the Robinsons," based on the successful children's book of the same name by William Joyce.

She currently lives in Los Angeles with husband Courtney B. Vance and her two children.