Angela Bassett was sent to live with her father's sister, Aunt Golden, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the age of just ten months old. As a little girl, Bassett attempted to view Golden as a motherly figure — something she would not allow, as the actor explained to People in 2018: "I always tried to call my auntie 'Mom.' You know when you're a baby, you look for father, mother. And I would go, 'Mommy.' But she was always clear with me, 'I'm not your mom. You have a mommy. I'm not your mommy.' She was very clear. She didn't try to take that role."
Golden raised Bassett until she was nearly five years old, until Betty Jane Bassett came back into her life and took the little girl to St. Petersburg, Florida, to live with her and Angela's younger sister, D'nette. Still, even after she and her mom reunited, there was some tension between them. The "Black Panther" star claimed that Betty Jane was very strict, placing a strong emphasis on her daughter being successful.
As she revealed to People, "My mother had a lot of pride in how you show up and carry yourselves. And set high standards. Sometimes too highly. I've had people say, 'You must of had a critical mother because you're tough on yourself.' But, yeah, she set high standards." Despite this, Angela credited Betty Jane with protecting her after a terrifying sexual assault years later.
