Angela Bassett gets Hollywood star

Actress Angela Bassett smiles during a ceremony honoring her with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Thursday, March 20, 2008, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. [Agencies]

Angela Bassett has had good days — becoming a mother to twins, winning a Golden Globe, being nominated for an Academy Award. Then there was Thursday.

"Do you ever have one of those days? I woke up and the sun wasn't really shining but then it burst through the clouds and it was glorious. Hallelujah!" Bassett exclaimed to the crowd at the ceremony for the 2,358th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bassett, 49, was joined by husband Courtney B. Vance, their children and guests Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne and Rick Fox, her co-star in the new film "Meet the Browns," out Friday.

Fishburne, who starred alongside Bassett in 1993's "What's Love Got to Do With It," highlighted Bassett's resilience in the industry. She landed an Oscar nomination for the role portraying Turner triumphing over abuse.

"You get a lot of no's in this business and you have to have that desire and determination which is what Angela has," Fishburne said.

Whitaker gushed that Bassett was "a powerful artist, a beautiful person, a mother, a wife, a friend who illuminates my life."

Born in New York City and raised in Florida, Bassett snagged bachelor's and master's degrees from Yale before starting her career in theater and then moving on to film.

Her film credits include 1998's "How Stella Got Her Groove Back."

At the ceremony, she recalled moving to Los Angeles from New York in 1988.

"I meant to stay six months but I stayed. Today my cup runneth over!" Bassett said. "I am crying now, I cried yesterday and the day before. ... This day is so, so special to me."