Kerry Washington’s Finding Her Roots

Kerry Washington reveals in her new memoir, Thicker Than Water, that her father, Earl Washington, is not her biological father. The Scandal star’s parents didn’t share this information with her until 2018, when they found out she was going to appear on the PBS show Finding Your Roots.

In an interview with The New York Times published Sunday (September 24th), Washington said, “I’ve always had this weird disconnect with my dad, but I thought that was my fault. I thought I wasn’t a kind enough person. But the idea that I was not his never occurred to me. It was just, why can’t I be better to him? Why can’t we be closer? What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with us?”

Washington was conceived with the help of a sperm donor, and she told the outlet that despite her “best efforts, there remains no way to determine his identity.”

Speaking about her parents, the Little Fires Everywhere actress added, “I know that their intention was to protect me, to love me, to take care of me, to keep my world simple. I get many years of not telling me, but I’ve been an adult for over two decades.” Washington also told People on Sunday (September 24th), “It really turned my world upside down.”