Kerry Washington - Wikipedia. Kerry Marisa Washington[1] (born January 3. American actress and producer. Since 2. 01. 2, Washington has gained wide public recognition for starring in the ABC drama Scandal, a Shonda Rhimes series in which she plays Olivia Pope, a crisis management expert to politicians and power brokers in Washington DC, and also is a producer.[5] For her role, she has been nominated twice for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series. Washington is also known for her roles as Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray (2.

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Kay in The Last King of Scotland (2. Alicia Masters in the live- action Fantastic Four films of 2. Broomhilda von Schaft in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2. She has also starred in the independent films Our Song (2.

At the time, fans only knew her as "Mandy Moore the pop star," the adorable 17-year-old bubblegum pop princess who introduced us to hits like "Candy" and "I Wanna Be. "I'm in a completely different chapter of my life, and I don't begrudge anything," says the 'This Is Us' star.

The Dead Girl (2. Mother and Child (2. Night Catches Us (2. In 2. 01. 6, she portrayed Anita Hill in the HBO television film Confirmation and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie. In April 2. 01. 4, Time magazine included Washington in its annual "Time 1. Early life[edit]Washington was born in the Bronx, New York City, the daughter of Valerie, a professor and educational consultant, and Earl Washington, a real estate broker.[4][7][8] Her father's family is of African American origin, having migrated from South Carolina to Brooklyn. Her mother's family is from Manhattan, and 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."[9][1.

Through her mother, she is a cousin of former U. S. Secretary of State. Colin Powell.[1. 2]Washington performed with the TADA! Youth Theater teen group and attended the Spence School in Manhattan from her pre- teen years[1. At age 1. 3, she was taken to watch Nelson Mandela speak at Yankee Stadium upon his release from prison.[1. She attended George Washington University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1. She also studied at Michael Howard Studios in New York City.[1.

In April 2. 01. 6, Washington confirmed that, in the 1. New York, she learned to dance from Jennifer Lopez.

During her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she told host Jimmy Fallon that "I've been taking dance for a long time, since I was a little girl. I had this very inspiring teacher named Larry Maldonado, for anybody from my neighborhood in the Bronx, he was our role model", Washington continued, "And he had an awesome substitute teacher named Jennifer, who would sometimes step in and teach. But, then she left to move to Los Angeles and be on the TV show In Living Color. So, yes, I learned to dance from JLo!" Washington verified.[1. Washington at the New York premiere of She Hate Me in 2. Washington got her Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card as a requirement for a commercial that she starred in.[1.

Washington made her screen debut in the ABCtelefilm. Magical Make- Over (1. She was in the cast of the 1. PBSsketch comedy- style educational series Standard Deviants,[1. D" and the feature film Our Song in 2. She went on to appear in several movies, including Save the Last Dance (2.

The Human Stain (2. In 2. 00. 2 she played Chris Rock's love interest in the spy thriller Bad Company, a film that represented a turning point for her, in that it was the first time in her career that she had made enough money annually to qualify for health insurance under SAG.[1. In 2. 00. 4, she played the female lead in Spike Lee's She Hate Me, and she received strong reviews for her performance. After 2. 00. 4, she held parts in Mr. Mrs. Smith (2. 00.

Little Man (2. 00. I Think I Love My Wife (2. Ugandandictator. Idi Amin in the UK historical drama The Last King of Scotland (2. Washington has also appeared in the recurring role of Chelina Hall on the ABC television series.

Boston Legal,[1. 4] and in several episodes of the A& Ecable- TV series 1. Centre Street.[1. In 2. 00. 7, she 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[1. 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.[2. 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 2. 00. 9 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.[2.

In 2. 01. 0, she made her Broadway debut in David Mamet's Race, alongside James Spader (with whom she worked on "Boston Legal"), David Alan Grier, and Richard Thomas. She also appeared in Tyler Perry's 2. For Colored Girls.[1. In October 2. 01. Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained, which was released in 2. She was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2. In 2. 01. 3, Washington ranked No.

People magazine's 1. Most Beautiful people[2. Woman of the Year by Glamour magazine.[2. The same year, she ranked No. Forbes magazine's annual list of the highest- paid actors in television and was announced as the new face of Neutrogena skin care.[2.

Washington hosted Saturday Night Live on November 2, 2. Watch Castle Eros Online. Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey in a cold opening sketch that satirized criticism of Saturday Night Live for not having had any black female cast members for many years.[2. Scandal[edit]Since April 2. 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. In this position, she works for high- profile figures, most notably the President of the United States, who is also her on- off lover.

The show has been a commercial and critical success, and has been called one of the most talked about drama series on Facebook and Twitter by Buzz. Feed.[2. 9][3. 0][3. Washington's performance has earned positive reviews, and in 2. Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series at the 4.

NAACP Image Awards and was also presented with the NAACP President's Award.[3. The same year, she was named "Favorite actress" and Scandal "Favorite Drama" of the year at TV Guide's Magazine Fan Favorite Awards [3. TV Star of the Year" by the editors of the magazine.[3.

For her work in the second season of Scandal, Washington was nominated for an Emmy at the 6. Primetime Emmy Awards[3.

Primetime Emmy Awards,[3. African- American woman to be nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1. She was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series as well as a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series.[3. 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 2.

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".[4. In 2. 01. 4, Washington and Paolo won the Influencer Award at the 2. Watch The Hills Run Red Online Fandango. Ace Fashion Awards for Olivia Pope's stylish clothes on the show.[4. The Boston Globe ranked Scandal tenth place of its list of "Top 1. TV shows" in 2. 01.

In 2. 01. 4, Washington announced her involvement in Malcolm D. Lee's Is He the One?