Angela Bassett

Angela Bassett's request to renegotiate her salary for "9-1-1" generated media attention.

You probably going to say what's the big deal and you are probably going to say she not grateful! Well, I don't care what the naysayer think.

Her $450,000 per episode pay was described as "historic" by Vanity Fair since it allowed her to become one of the highest-paid actors of color in network television.

However, as the site accurately notes, Bassett wasn't only paid more because of her acting prowess (although to be fair, that would be sufficient justification for doing so).  Instead, that pay includes her responsibilities as executive producer of both the main program and its spin-off, "9-1-1: Lone Star."  When that is taken into account, it means that she isn't getting paid nearly as much as she should.  

"Higher per-episode paydays were collected by Sofia Vergara, who earned a reported $500,000 an episode of 'Modern Family' by the show's finale, and Kaley Cuoco, who reportedly made $900,000 an episode of 'The Big Bang Theory' during her sitcom's last seasons," they say.

Just to be clear. This is not to imply that success should not be celebrated. Contrarily, when a Black actress like Angela Bassett earns this much money, she merits her roses and then some. But it does mean that in order to attain equity and equality, we must evaluate both how far we've come and how far we still have to go. Furthermore, if Bassett's white competitors are earning more, she ought to as well.

This is not enough money! This is so unfair

Deadline broke the exclusive news that Angela Bassett is now making a whopping $450,000 per episode of “9-1-1.”

“That is believed to be among the top salaries on network television for any actor — male or female — and could be the highest ever for an actress of color on a broadcast drama series,” reports the outlet. “For Oscar-nominated Bassett, it encompasses other services beyond acting. She was involved in the development of ‘9-1-1,’ which Ryan Murphy created for her.”

As previously mentioned, that means that the $450,000 per episode is for both her acting and her EP services.

Angela Bassett's Net Worth

As of 2021, Angela Bassett's net worth was estimated by Celebrity Net Worth to be $25 million. However, as the source notes, Bassett's net worth is merged with her husband Courtney B. Vance's (whom she has been married to for more than 25 years).

Angela Bassett's net worth is derived from a few real estate acquisitions in addition to her pay.

According to Berg Properties, Bassett and Vance listed their Hancock Park home for sale back in 2007. They listed it for more than $5 million at first. But in 2008, they sold the house for $3.8 million after lowering the price. Prior to meeting and marrying Vance, Bassett had owned the home since the 1990s and had acquired it from a gay rights activist Duke Comegys Vietnam veteran .

 The Highest-Paid TV Actresses In Hollywood?

While Angela Bassett earns a respectable — and well-deserved — pay per episode of "9-1-1," Newsweek notes that her white counterparts have earned and continue to earn significantly more than she does.
The actors of "Friends," for instance, earned $750,000 each episode in 2001.

For their parts in "The Morning Show," Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon will receive $2 million apiece from Apple TV+ in 2021, keeping with the "Friends" motif.

As of 2020, Ellen Pompeo of "Grey's Anatomy" earns $550,000 per episode in addition to receiving a share of the show's syndication income, which amounts to an additional $6 million annually.But all that pales in comparison to Kelsey Grammar, who made $1.6 million per episode of “Frasier” back in 2001. This made him the highest-earning actor in history on television.