Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington
Washington at the Paris premiere of Django Unchained in 2013
Born	(1977-01-31) January 31, 1977 (age 36) The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	George Washington University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1994–present
Spouse(s)	Nnamdi Asomugha (m. 2013–2013)

Kerry Washington (born January 31, 1977) is an American actress, director and narrator. As of 2012 Washington is the lead actress in the ABC drama Scandal, a Shonda Rhimes series in which Washington plays Olivia Pope, a former crisis management expert to the President. She is known for her roles as Ray Charles's wife, Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray (2004), as Idi Amin's wife Kay in The Last King of Scotland (2006), as Alicia Masters, love interest of Ben Grimm/The Thing in the live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007, and as Broomhilda von Schaft, Django's wife, in Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained (2012).

Washington has also starred in the critically acclaimed independent films Our Song (2000) and The Dead Girl (2006). Her other films include Save the Last Dance (2001), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Little Man (2006), For Colored Girls (2010), and Peeples (2013).

Early life

Washington was born in the The Bronx, New York City, the daughter of Valerie, a professor and educational consultant, and Earl Washington, a real estate broker. Her father's family is African-American, from South Carolina and Brooklyn, and her mother's family is from Jamaica and Manhattan; Washington has said that her mother is from a "mixed-race background but from Jamaica, so she is partly English and Scottish and native American, but also descended from African slaves in the Caribbean".

Washington performed with the Tada theater teen group and attended the Spence School in Manhattan, graduating in 1994. She attended The George Washington University, graduating in 1998 Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in anthropology and sociology. She also studied at Michael Howard Studios in New York City.

Career

Washington at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

Washington made her screen debut in the ABC telefilm Magical Make-Over (1994). She was in the cast of the 1996 PBS sketch comedy-style educational series Standard Deviants, and she appeared in the short "3D" and the feature film Our Song in 2000. She went on to appear in several movies, including Save the Last Dance (2001), The Human Stain (2003), Spike Lee's She Hate Me (2004), Ray (2004), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Little Man (2006), I Think I Love My Wife (2007), and as a wife of 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the UK historical drama The Last King of Scotland (2006). Washington has also appeared in the recurring role of Chelina Hall on the ABC television series Boston Legal, and in several episodes of the A&E cable-TV series 100 Centre Street. She is the new spokesperson for L'Oréal, appearing in commercials and ads alongside fellow actresses, Scarlett Johansson and Eva Longoria, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Dian Sastrowardoyo, Aishwarya Rai, Maya Karin and model Doutzen Kroes.

She also co-directed and appeared in the music video for hip-hop artist Common's song, "I Want You", the fourth single from his album Finding Forever. Washington narrated the critically acclaimed documentary about the New Orleans-based teenage TBC Brass Band, From the Mouthpiece on Back. She also appears in Maxwell's "Bad Habits" video. In 2009 Washington performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. In 2010, she made her Broadway debut in David Mamet's Race, alongside James Spader, David Alan Grier, and Richard Thomas. She also appeared in Tyler Perry's 2010 film For Colored Girls. In October 2011, it was confirmed that she would star in Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained, which was released in 2012 and received universal critical acclaim.

In 2013, Washington ranked No. 2 on People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful people.

Scandal

Since April 2012, Washington has starred in the ABC drama series Scandal, created by Shonda Rimes, as Olivia Pope, a crisis manager who runs her own crisis management firm called Pope & Associates in Washington, D.C.. The show has been a commercial and critical success, and has been called one of the most talked about drama series on Twitter by Buzzfeed. Its success has also drawn attention to racial questions in television, as Washington is the first African-American actress to lead an American network drama series since 1974, when Teresa Graves starred in the crime drama Get Christie Love! on ABC. Tanzina Vega of The New York Times has written that Washington's casting "has prompted discussion among academics and fans of the show about whether Scandal represents a new era of post-racial television, in which cast members are ethnically perse but are not defined by their race or ethnicity."

Washington's performance has earned positive reviews, and in 2013, she won the award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series at the 44th NAACP Image Awards and was also presented with the NAACP President's Award. The same year, she was also named "Favorite actress" and Scandal "Favorite Drama" of the year at TV Guide's Magazine Fan Favorite Awards.

In addition to Washington's acting, her costumes as Olivia Pope have attracted positive attention, prompting Vanity Fair to name the character one of The Top Ten Best-Dressed TV Characters in 2013. According to the show's costume designer, Lyn Paolo, the success of Olivia Pope's wardrobe is based on "this idea of having [her character] wear such soft, feminine colors in a man's world".

Personal life

Washington at the Metropolitan Opera in 2010

Washington was engaged to actor David Moscow from October 2004 to March 2007. She is rumored to have married NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha on June 24, 2013 in Hailey, Idaho. This has not been officially confirmed by Washington or Asomugha.

As a sort of souvenir or memento, she usually tries to keep something from every character that she plays, such as an item of wardrobe or a piece of furniture from the house the character lived in.

On May 19, 2013, she was the commencement speaker for her alma mater, the George Washington University. Before giving her commencement address she was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts.

Other projects

Activism

In 2007, Washington and other celebrities joined for the 2007 Lee National Denim Day, supporting the Women’s Cancer Programs of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. She is a member of V-Day, a global movement that brings awareness to violence against women and girls.

Politics

She is at times referred to as a political activist and was a supporter of Barack Obama's presidential candidacy. Washington has also spent time volunteering through the Adopt-a-Classroom program in New York as well as with Co-Op America, now known as Green America. Washington also spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Our Song	Lanisha Brown
2000	3D	Angie	Short film
2001	Save the Last Dance	Chenille
2001	Lift	Niecy
2002	Take the A Train	Keisha	Short film
2002	Bad Company	Julie
2003	United States of Leland, TheThe United States of Leland	Ayesha
2003	Human Stain, TheThe Human Stain	Ellie
2003	Sin	Kassie
2004	Against the Ropes	Renee
2004	She Hate Me	Fatima Goodrich
2004	Ray	Della Bea Robinson
2005	Sexual Life	Rosalie
2005	Mr. & Mrs. Smith	Jasmine
2005	Fantastic Four	Alicia Masters
2005	Wait	Maggie	Short film
2006	Little Man	Vanessa
2006	Last King of Scotland, TheThe Last King of Scotland	Kay Amin
2006	Dead Girl, TheThe Dead Girl	Rosetta
2007	I Think I Love My Wife	Nikki Tru
2007	Put It in a Book	Sheila	Short film
2007	Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer	Alicia Masters
2008	Woman in Burka	Kerry	Short film
2008	Miracle at St. Anna	Zana Wilder
2008	Lakeview Terrace	Lisa Mattson
2009	Life Is Hot in Cracktown	Marybeth
2009	Mother and Child	Lucy
2010	Night Catches Us	Patricia Wilson
2010	For Colored Girls	Kelly / Blue
2011	Details, TheThe Details	Rebecca Mazzoni
2012	Thousand Words, AA Thousand Words	Caroline McCall
2012	Django Unchained	Broomhilda von Schaft
2013	Peeples	Grace Peeples

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	ABC Afterschool Special	Heather	Episode: "Magical Make-Over"
1996	Standard Deviants	Kerry	TV series
2001	NYPD Blue	Maya Young	Episode: "Franco, My Dear, I Don't Give a Damn"
2001	Deadline	Tina Johnson	Episode: "The Undesirables"
2001	Law & Order	Allie Lawrence	Episode: "3 Dawg Night"
2001	100 Centre Street		5 episodes
2002	Guardian, TheThe Guardian	Drea Westbrook	Episode: "The Next Life"
2004	Wonderfalls	Mahandra McGinty	Episode: "Unaired Pilot"
2004	Strip Search		TV film
2005–2006	Boston Legal	Chelina Hall	5 episodes
2008	Psych	Mira Gaffney	Episode: "There's Something About Mira"
2010	Black Panther	Princess Shuri / Baker Woman (voice)	TV miniseries
2012–present	Scandal	Olivia Pope	Main role (29 episodes)

Awards and nominations

Washington at Hollywood Life Magazine’s 2007 Breakthrough Awards.

Award	Award category	Year	Title of work	Result
Teen Choice Awards	Best Actress	2001	Save the Last Dance	Nominated
BET Awards	Best Actress	2007	The Last King of Scotland	Nominated
Black Reel Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress	2011	For Colored Girls	Nominated
	Outstanding Actress		Night Catches Us	Won
	Outstanding Ensemble		Night Catches Us	Nominated
	Outstanding Ensemble		For Colored Girls	Won
	Outstanding Ensemble	2009	Miracle at St. Anna	Nominated
	Outstanding Supporting Actress	2007	The Last King of Scotland	Nominated
	Outstanding Actress, Drama	2005	Ray	Nominated
	Outstanding Actress, Network/Cable	2003	Lift	Nominated
	Outstanding Independent Actor	2002	Lift	Nominated
	Outstanding Supporting Actress Theatrical		Save the Last Dance	Nominated
Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	2011	Night Catches Us	Nominated
	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	2007	The Last King of Scotland	Nominated
	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	2006	Boston Legal	Nominated
	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	2005	Ray	Won
	Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series	2013	Scandal	Won
	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture		Django Unchained	Won
Independent Spirit Awards	Best Female Lead	2002	Lift	Nominated
Satellite Awards	Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical	2005	Ray	Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture		Ray	Nominated