Kerry Washington

Actress

Birth Name: Kerry Marisa Washington

Birth Date: January 31, 1977

Age: 48 years old

Birth Place: Bronx, New York

Best known for playing strong-willed crisis manager Olivia Pope for seven seasons of Shonda Rhimes' ground-breaking political thriller "Scandal" (ABC, 2012-18), Kerry Washington also achieved awards recognition for her roles in "Ray" (2005), "Django Unchained" (2012) and "Confirmation" (HBO, 2016).

Born in The Bronx, NY in 1977 to a professor mother and real estate broker father, Kerry Washington attended her home state's TADA! Youth Theater company in her teens and after graduating from George Washington University with a degree in sociology and anthropology, she further honed her acting talents at New York's Michael Howard Studios. She made her screen debut in a 1996 episode of "ABC Afterschool Special" (ABC, 1972-1997) and graduated to the big screen four years later with a co-starring role in coming-of-age "Our Song" (2000).

Washington also took center stage as a shoplifter in "Lift" (2001) before playing a single mother in teen flick "Save the Last Dance" (2001), Chris Rock's love interest in comedy "Bad Company" (2002) and Don Cheadle's mistress in legal drama "The United States of Leland" (2003) as well as enjoying a five-episode stint in the short-lived "100 Centre Street" (A&E Network, 2001-02). Minor roles in Philip Roth adaptation "The Human Stain" (2003) and post-9/11 tale "Strip Search" (2004) followed, as did the more substantial parts of Ving Rhames' rebellious sister in crime thriller "Sin" (2003), Omar Epps' girlfriend in boxing drama "Against the Ropes" (2003) and Ray Charles' second wife Della Bea Robinson in acclaimed biopic "Ray" (2005).

Washington then impressed as Anthony Mackie's lesbian ex-fiancee Fatima in Spike Lee's "She Hate Me" (2004), appeared in interweaving relationship drama "Sexual Life" (2005) and joined the superhero world with the role of blind sculptor Alicia Masters in "Fantastic Four" (2005). Her prolific streak continued with turns as Angelina Jolie's best friend Jasmine in action comedy "Mr and Mrs Smith" (2005), mother figure Vanessa in the Wayans brothers' farce "Little Man" (2005) and dictator Idi Amin's spouse Kay in biopic "The Last King of Scotland" (2005) and a recurring gig as lawyer Chelina Hall in "Boston Legal" (ABC, 2004-08).

In between reuniting with Rock in "I Think I Love My Wife" (2007), Lee in "Miracle at St. Anna" (2008) and Mackie in "Night Catches Us" (2010), Washington played a terrorized newlywed in "Lakeview Terrace" (2008), a transsexual prostitute in "Life Is Hot in Crackdown" (2009) and an aspiring adoptive parent in "Mother and Child" (2009). She then joined an all-star cast in Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls" (2010), showed up in indie comedy "The Details" (2011) and portrayed house slave Broomhilda Von Schaft in Quentin Tarantino's revisionist western "Django Unchained" (2012).

Washington's career then shifted to the small screen when she landed the role of powerful crisis manager Olivia Pope in "Scandal" (ABC, 2012-18). During her six-year stint in Shonda Rhimes' political thriller, for which she picked up multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nods, Washington also joined Craig Robinson in comedy "Peeples" (2013), voiced statistical analyst Natalie Certain in Pixar animations "Cars 3" (2017) and earned critical acclaim for her portrayal of Anita Hill, the lawyer who alleged she'd been sexually harassed by U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, in TV movie "Confirmation" (HBO, 2016). Following the show's natural end, Washington played George's nemesis Helen in one-off revival "Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons" (ABC, 2019), reprised her role as the mother of a missing teen in the adaptation of Broadway play "American Son" (2019), joined the star-studded cast of Ryan Murphy's musical comedy "The Prom" (2020) and co-starred as Reese Witherspoon's rival Mia in "Little Fires Everywhere" (Hulu, 2020-), a multigenerational drama which the pair also executive produced.

Kerry Washington

Actress

Birth Name: Kerry Marisa Washington

Birth Date: January 31, 1977

Age: 48 years old

Birth Place: Bronx, New York

Spouses: Nnamdi Asomugha

Partners: David Moscow

Awards

Credits

The Breakfast Club

Shadow ForceStream

Shadow ForceStream

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Black Women in America: The Road to 2024

The Six Triple EightStream

The Six Triple EightStream

Kerry Washington: Thicker Than Water -- A Conversation With Robin Roberts

UnprisonedStream

UnprisonedStream

Reasonable DoubtStream

Reasonable DoubtStream

Sherri

The Jennifer Hudson ShowStream

The School for Good and EvilStream

Live in Front of a Studio Audience

CBS Mornings

The Disney Holiday SingalongStream

Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy

Wilmore

The Drew Barrymore ShowStream

Global Goal: Unite for Our Future -- The Concert

GMA3: What You Need to Know

One World: Together at Home

Little Fires EverywhereStream

Little Fires EverywhereStream

The Fight

The PromStream

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: All in the Family and Good Times

The Kelly Clarkson ShowStream

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons

All About All in the Family and The Jeffersons

Today With Hoda & Jenna

American SonStream

American SonStream

Today 3rd Hour

The Alec Baldwin ShowStream

Five Points

The Best of Tavis Smiley

PeopleTV Specials

Wyeth

Live with Kelly and Ryan

Cars 3Stream

ChelseaStream

Scandal: Cast and Creator Live at PALEYFEST

The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60

ConfirmationStream

ConfirmationStream

The Daily Show with Trevor NoahStream

MSNBC Special: The 4th Annual Global Citizen Festival: A Concert to End Extreme Poverty

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

Scandal: The Cast at PALEYLIVE NY

Behind the Story With the Paley Center

The Late Late Show With James Corden

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

How to Get Away With MurderStream

Thank God It's Thursday on ABC

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

Young Hollywood's Greatest

The Queen Latifah Show

Django Unchained - Exklusivt klipp

The Real

Scandal: Cast and Creators Live at the Paley Center

Vanity Fair's Hollywood

Django Unchained Interview Special

PeeplesStream

Girl Rising

Django Unchained

Scandal: Cast and Creators Live at PALEYFEST