Angela Bassett, once Oscar nominated for playing Tina Turner, honors Turner's passing

Among the countless tributes to Tina Turner that have been shared in the last day, one from Angela Bassett certainly stands out. Bassett, who famously starred as Turner in the 1993 biopic ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It’ — and was nominated for an Oscar for it — posted a photo to Instagram of her and Turner laughing together. ‘How do we say farewell to a woman who owned her pain and trauma and used it as a means to help change the world?’ she wrote in the Instagram caption.

Turner had written a tribute to Bassett when the actress received a Titan honor (which recognizes the top 100 most influential people) from Time Magazine earlier this year. Turner recalled the first time the two met: ‘‘She’s perfect,’ I said, and I was right. You never mimicked me. Instead, you reached deep into your soul, found your inner Tina, and showed her to the world,’ she wrote.

Bassett said those were Turner’s final words to her and she will hold them close to her heart. ‘She gave us her whole self,’ Bassett wrote in her Instagram post. ‘And Tina Turner is a gift that will always be ‘simply the best.’ Angels sing thee to thy rest…Queen.’

Bassett was among the long line of celebrities and Hollywood stars who paid tribute to one of the world’s most iconic performers. Rolling Stone’s Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood, Martha Stewart, singer Mariah Carey, and the lead singer of Motown’s most successful act, ‘The Supremes’ Diana Ross all shared their heartbreak about Turner’s loss and emphasized how influential she has been in the music industry and as a friend.

‘Hero. Shero. Revolutionary. Trailblazer. Icon. Mother. Wife,’ wrote Bassett’s husband Courtney B. Vance. ‘It’s just hard to say goodbye to those giants who’ve spoken to us through art that has changed our lives, and awakened in us a desire to see more, be more, do more!!!’