Kerry Washington
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"She's a wonderful talent. She stacks up against anybody."---Spike Lee on Washington, her director in "She Hate Me" People, August 2, 2004.
"I think part of what draws me to acting is that from a young age I've been aware of the different dynamics between people, of how socioeconomics affect behavior, or geography or education, from a real social-sciences perspective. So I didn't come to this work to do just one thing. I want to do it all. It's important I do work I can feel good about. As actors, we're always trying to break out of whatever box we're in, and I'd rather be breaking out of the respected actor box than the video ho box."---Washington to The Los Angeles Times, November 21, 2004.
Biography
Though she had her start in the indie film world, actress Kerry Washington scored her first big breakthrough role as a street-smart mom in the surprise mainstream hit, "Save the Last Dance" (2001). Seemingly emerging out of the blue, Washington actually paid her dues on the stage and in a number of small films before her breakout performance, which paved the way for another acclaimed turned in "The United States of Leland" (2003). But it was her high-profile performance as Ray Charles' loyal second wife opposite Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx in "Ray" (2004) that turned her into a major star. Also at the time, she was the lead in Spike Lee's "She Hate Me" (2004) and achieved blockbuster status as Alicia Masters in "The Fantastic Four" (2005) and "The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (2007). Balancing major studio films with smaller acclaimed dramas, she delivered a strong performance as Idi Amin's out-of-favor wife in "The Last King of Scotland" (2006) and shined in the ensemble drama "Mother and Child" (2010) and Quentin Tarantino's Western "Django Unchained" (2012). While she made a number of appearances on television, Washington was never the star of a series until "Scandal" (ABC, 2012- ), a red-hot drama where she played a fictional version of real-life crisis manager Judy Smith. Whether on the big or small screen, the highly ambitious Washington excelled in a variety of roles and became a favorite performer of numerous directors.
Born in New York City on Jan. 31, 1977, Washington grew up in the Bronx as the only child of her real estate broker father and her professor and educational consultant mother. Following the sixth grade, Washington left public school to attend junior high and high school at the prestigious Spence School for Girls in Manhattan, while also performing with the TADA! Youth Theater group. She later attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she double majored in anthropology and sociology, before continuing to study acting at Michael Howard Studios in New York. While attending college, Washington worked closely with the local theater community and helped create a support system for people of color in the arts called Shades of the Fine Arts. After graduation, Washington spent three months in India to immerse herself in a foreign culture and to touch-up on her yoga skills. Returning to the United States, Washington moved back home with her parents, where she lived while starring in her first feature film, "Our Song" (2000). Though already 22 at the time, Washington convincingly played a wise, but vulnerable 16-year-old from the Crown Heights projects in Brooklyn.
In her first major film, "Save the Last Dance" (2001), Washington delivered a breakthrough performance as a street-smart teenage mom who takes in a suburban white girl (Julia Stiles) who has just transferred to an inner-city school. The surprise hit positioned Washington to play meatier roles, as her stock went up in the casting world. For her next notable project, the made-for-cable crime drama, "Lift" (Showtime, 2002), she played a petty thief forced to give up her way of life to mend a broken relationship with her mother. Critically acclaimed for her performance, the role ended up earning Washington a 2002 Independent Spirit Award nomination. Coming off such critical acclaim, she stumbled a bit with the critical and financial failure, "Bad Company" (2002), a so-called action-comedy starring Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins. But Washington rebounded nicely with a strong performance in "The United States of Leland" (2003), a sullen drama about a suburban teen (Ryan Gosling) who commits a shocking crime. Though Washington's performance was singled out for special praise, the film itself was widely criticized for being another maudlin and self-important independent film.
Reuniting with Hopkins, Washington received a similar reception for "The Human Stain" (2003), a less-than-compelling drama about a university professor hiding his true African-American identity. Despite failures like "Bad Company" and "The Human Stain" on her résumé, Washington continued on her career track with typical charm and good cheer, scoring the lead role in "She Hate Me" (2004), a Spike Lee Joint about a down-and-out biotech executive (Anthony Mackie) who is offered some easy money when his ex-girlfriend-turned-lesbian (Washington) offers cash to impregnate her and her girlfriend. Once again, both critics and audiences failed to appreciate the film. Luckily, Washington managed to score big with her winning performance as Della Bea Robinson in director Taylor Hackford's "Ray" (2004), a biopic about the late genius of soul, Ray Charles (Jaime Foxx). Lauded by critics and frequented by audiences, "Ray" earned Foxx the lion's share of critical and awards attention, though Washington also received kudos for her turn as Charles' resolute second wife who endures his drug abuse and infidelity. Meanwhile, she received another crack at major exposure when she signed on to play Alicia Masters, the blind love interest of the Thing (Michael Chiklis) in the big screen adaptation of the comic book classic, "The Fantastic Four" (2005). Though originally conceived as a blonde-haired and blue-eyed Caucasian in the comic books, director Tim Story re-cast the part to accommodate the talented Washington.
Prior to the comic book adventure, Washington played the only friend and cohort of an assassin (Angelina Jolie) who is married to a seemingly boring husband (Brad Pitt) and trapped in a ho-hum suburban life in the action-thriller, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (2005). From there, she went on to play an unsuspecting Chicago suburbanite who comes into possession of a stolen diamond, leading three-foot-high jewel thief (Marlon Wayans) to pose as a baby to get his prize in the misbegotten comedy, "Little Man" (2006), another tasteless comedy from the Wayans Brothers. That same year, Washington delivered a dazzling dramatic turn in "The Last King of Scotland" (2006), playing Kay Amin, the out-of-favor wife of ruthless Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker), who has a risky affair with her genocidal husband's personal physician (James McAvoy). Turning to television, Washington played hot-tempered attorney Chelina Hall in several recurring episodes of the popular David E. Kelley legal drama, "Boston Legal" (ABC, 2004-08), which she soon followed with a supporting turn as the other woman in the romantic comedy "I Think I Love My Wife" (2007), starring Chris Rock.
After reprising Alicia Masters for the critically maligned sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (2007), Washington was wife to Patrick Wilson, both of whom are terrorized by a racist LAPD cop (Samuel L. Jackson) in the Neil LaBute thriller "Lakeview Terrace" (2008). She was next cast by Spike Lee for a supporting turn in the director's controversial war drama, "Miracle at St. Anna" (2008), before playing a tough veteran street cop in the indie crime drama, "Life Is Hot in Cracktown" (2009). Following an episode of the comic detective drama, "Psych" (USA Network, 2006-14), Washington co-starred as a woman who longs for a child, but is unable to have one on her own in "Mother and Child" (2010), which also featured Naomi Watts and Annette Bening. From there, she joined an ensemble cast that included Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg and Thandie Newton for Tyler Perry's inadequately adapted take on Ntozake Shange's acclaimed play "For Colored Girls" (2010)
Following a rather forgettable co-starring turn opposite Eddie Murphy in the failed comedy "A Thousand Words" (2010), Washington memorably portrayed Broomhilda, the wife of an escaped slave (Jamie Foxx) in Quentin Tarantino's lauded neo-spaghetti Western "Django Unchained" (2012). Prior to that film's release, Washington scored big as the star of "Scandal" (ABC, 2012- ), where she played crisis manager Olivia Pope, a fictionalized version of famed Bush administration aide Judy Smith. Never shy about politics in her own life, Washington publicly supported the re-election of President Barack Obama and even delivered a speech during the Democratic National Convention in September 2012. In 2013, Washington co-starred with Craig Robinson in the widely overlooked feature comedy "Peeples" and shortly thereafter married pro football player (and occasional actor) Nnamdi Asomugha.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1994
Made her screen debut in the ABC telefilm "Magical Make-Over"
1996
Cast in the PBS educational series "Standard Deviants"
2000
Appeared in the film "Our Song"
2001
Played an accomplished shoplifter in the indie feature "Lift"
2001
Landed major supporting role in romantic drama "Save the Last Dance"
2002
Cast in support of Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock in "Bad Company"
2003
Again played a supporting role opposite Anthony Hopkins in the "Human Stain"
2003
Joined an ensemble cast including Ryan Gosling, Don Cheadle and Kevin Spacey in "The United States of Leland"
2004
Cast opposite Anthony Mackie in the Spike Lee comedy "She Hate Me"
2004
Portrayed Della Charles opposite Jamie Foxx as the title character in Taylor Hackford's biopic "Ray"
2005
Had a supporting role in the Marvel Comics feature "Fantastic Four"
2005
Appeared in a supporting role opposite Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in Doug Liman's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"
2005
Cast in the recurring role of Chelina Hall, a new associate on the ABC series "Boston Legal"
2006
Played a wife of 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the historical drama "The Last King of Scotland"
2007
Reprised role for the superhero sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer"
2008
Played an interracial couple (with Patrick Wilson) being harassed by a racist cop in Neil LaBute's "Lakeview Terrace"
2008
Again directed by Spike Lee in "Miracle at St. Anna"
2009
Made her Broadway debut in David Mamet's "Race"
2010
Co-starred in Rodrigo García's independent feature "Mother and Child"
2010
Joined an ensemble cast for Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls"
2010
Reteamed with Anthony Mackie in drama "Night Catches Us"
2012
Appeared opposite Eddie Murphy in the comedy-drama "A Thousand Words"
2012
Starred as the leader of a crisis management team on ABC's "Scandal"; character was inspired by real-life crisis consultant and former White House Press secretary Judy Smith
2012
Played title character's wife Broomhilda opposite Jamie Foxx in "Django Unchained," a Western drama set in Mississippi; film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino
2013
Co-starred alongside Craig Robinson in romantic comedy "Peeples"
2016
Starred in TV historical drama "Confirmation"
2017
Lent her voice to the character Natalie Certain in Disney/Pixar's "Cars 3"
2018
Her "Scandal" character, Olivia Pope, was featured in a crossover episode of "How to Get Away with Murder"
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"She's a wonderful talent. She stacks up against anybody."---Spike Lee on Washington, her director in "She Hate Me" People, August 2, 2004.
"I think part of what draws me to acting is that from a young age I've been aware of the different dynamics between people, of how socioeconomics affect behavior, or geography or education, from a real social-sciences perspective. So I didn't come to this work to do just one thing. I want to do it all. It's important I do work I can feel good about. As actors, we're always trying to break out of whatever box we're in, and I'd rather be breaking out of the respected actor box than the video ho box."---Washington to The Los Angeles Times, November 21, 2004.
