--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: Kerry Washington by Valerie Jarrett: TIME 100 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52834a08def86307/69868b51e53aba61614d2227/kerry-washington-time-100-feat.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 24, 2014 # Kerry Washington by Valerie Jarrett  Horst Diekgerdes—Trunk Archive Occasionally in American pop culture, an icon emerges who captivates us and provides a vivid snapshot of who we are and the changing times in which we live. In her role as Olivia Pope, _Scandal_’s unflappable political fixer, Kerry Washington has used her grace and vibrant magnetism to transcend age, race and gender, and to provide a new mainstream media lens through which to view modern womanhood and professional excellence. Setting aside the “scandalous” melodrama necessary to sustain a fictional series so titled, Kerry has offered up a fresh new archetype for what it means to lead while combining courage and compassion, strength and vulnerability, passion, steely discipline and unfailing loyalty. It is a role that makes full use of her distinctive talent for drawing in audiences with such authenticity that we often forget she is acting. Kerry’s work with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities since 2009 is also a source of deep inspiration, using arts education to close achievement gaps and ignite passion among young people. In a world that too often tells little girls to choose between womanhood and success, between femininity and a seat at the head of the table, both onscreen and off Kerry Washington embodies the promise that lives in all our young people to shape their own destinies and succeed as “gladiators” for the causes in which they believe. ### Before She Was Pope  Our Song, 2000: In her debut film role, Washington played Lanisha Brown, who—along with her two friends—is a member of the Jackie Robinson Steppers, a community marching band in Crown Heights. Over the summer, the girls must figure out where they will attend high school in the fall, after their current one shuts down. IFC Films  Save the Last Dance, 2001: Though fans of this movie may remember the star-crossed, interracial, dancing couple played by Julia Stiles (Sara) and Sean Patrick Thomas (Derek), they may not know that Washington played single mom Chenille, Derek's sister and Sara's first friend at school. Paramount  Against the Ropes, 2004: In this biopic of Jackie Kallen (Meg Ryan), the first female promoter in professional boxing, Washington was cast as Renee, Kallen's best friend and—eventually—girlfriend of boxer Luther Shaw (Omar Epps). Paramount  Ray, 2004: Washington played Ray Charles' (Jamie Foxx) long-suffering second wife Della Bea Robinson in the Golden Globe-nominated film. Universal  Boston Legal, 2005-2006: Washington had a recurring role as Chelina Hall on the hit TV show, but left after the first season. Carin Baer—Fox/Everett Collection  Fantastic Four, 2005: Washington played Alicia Masters, the blind girlfriend of Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing, in both the 2005 and 2007 installments of the superhero franchise. 20th Cenury Fox  The Last King of Scotland, 2006: Washington played Kay, the youngest of dictator Idi Amin's (Forest Whitaker) three wives, who is ostracised when she gives birth to an epileptic son. She has an affair with Amin's doctor and confidant, Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), to disastrous ends. Fox Searchlight  I Think I Love My Wife, 2007: Washington plays Nikki Tru, the "other woman" who tries to seduce a married Richard Cooper (Chris Rock) away from his wife. 20th Century Fox  Lakeview Terrace, 2008: In this thriller directed by Neil LaBute, Washington and Patrick Wilson play a couple who moves in to a racially mixed Los Angeles neighborhood, next door to a violent cop, played by Samuel L. Jackson. Screen Gems  A Thousand Words, 2012: In this comedy, Washington plays the wife of a windbag literary agent (Eddie Murphy) who is cursed and told he will die after he utters 1,000 words. Bruce McBroom—DreamWorks  Django Unchained, 2012: Washington stars as the German-speaking damsel in distress in this Quentin Tarantino movie. Her character, Broomhilda von Shaft, is bought by "Monsieur" Calvin J. Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) and must be saved by her husband, Django (Jamie Foxx) and his fellow bounty hunger, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). Andrew Cooper—Weinstein Company  Scandal, 2012-present: Washington shot to superstardom as Olivia Pope on the addictive D.C. drama. Pope is the head of a crisis management firm who gets entangled in White House drama. Randy Holmes—ABC _Jarrett is a senior adviser to the U.S. President_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/2014-time-100/70800/kerry-washington-2014-time-100/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/2014-time-100/70800/kerry-washington-2014-time-100/"},"headline":"Kerry Washington","datePublished":"2014-04-24T01:04:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T22:59:30.660Z","description":"The actor who projects strength amid scandal","url":"https://time.com/collections/2014-time-100/70800/kerry-washington-2014-time-100/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52834a08def86307/69868b51e53aba61614d2227/kerry-washington-time-100-feat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52834a08def86307/69868b51e53aba61614d2227/kerry-washington-time-100-feat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/2014-time-100/70800/kerry-washington-2014-time-100/","name":"Kerry Washington"}}]}] ```