Kerry Washington is arguably one of the most sought after African American actresses. Her style is constantly covered in the media, and her looks on ABC’s Scandal are always on point. However, growing up, Washington didn’t always feel beautiful.
The Scandal star sat with Marie Claire and Girls star Lena Dunham for the April cover issue. During their discussion, Washington revealed that she didn’t grow up thinking she was beautiful.
“I didn’t grow up thinking I was pretty; there was always a prettier girl than me.”
Me & my homie @lenadunham hung out & chatted w/ @marieclaire and there’s a mag to prove it! http://t.co/RkphmhaYaq pic.twitter.com/18PcTwZAoR
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) March 12, 2015
She continued to share how this made her look inside herself to find qualities that she loved that went beyond the superficial.
“So I learned to be smart and tried to be funny and develop the inside of me, because I felt like that’s what I had.”
As far as her desires? The 38-year-old wants to make sure that her daughter Isabelle is heard in the world.
“I just want [daughter Isabelle] to know that she’s heard. Really heard, because I feel like that is what we all really want.”
Washington goes on to explain how her desire to be heard in the world changed her experience in growing up.
“When I think about any of the missteps in my life that I’ve made, all of which I’m grateful for, it’s because I just so wanted to be truly seen and heard for who I am and was afraid I wasn’t or wouldn’t be. I see you, I hear you, I’m with you as you are.”
Marie Claire April Cover Star Kerry Washington http://t.co/Y4LYRapD6u @kerrywashington @ScandalABC pic.twitter.com/P09wooptfl
— Shannon M. (@FL_Shannon) March 13, 2015
As far as her career, Kerry says that it was a constant struggle to balance her private life in the limelight.
“Earlier in my career I was much more super-sharey. There were moments when I wanted to process things that were happening to me more privately, and I didn’t have the space to do it, because once you let people in, they’re in and you don’t get to say, ‘Oh, I want this for myself.’”
Washington’s career has been on a roll in the last few years. There hasn’t been a choice that seems out of place for the actress. As the Inquisitr reported , Washington is taking on the role of Anita Hill on the HBO film Confirmation .
The film will document the “1991 Clarence Thomas-Hill Supreme Court nomination hearings, which brought the country to a standstill and forever changed the way people think about sexual harassment, victims’ rights and modern-day race relations.”
Washington will also act as an executive producer on the film.
[Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images]
