‘Scandal’ Actress Kerry Washington Drops Timely Gems As Latest Glamour Magazine Cover Story
There is no doubt that Kerry Washington is a beautiful woman. With her, beauty is not just an obvious external quality, but something that her actions and her words reinforce too. The actress is absolutely radiant in Glamour magazine’s May 2017 issue. As the mag’s cover story, the Scandal star opens up about the balancing act of being a wife and mother, utilizing art as a vessel for activism, Scandal’s fate, and what turning 40 has meant to her.
Though she has an impressive list of beauty endorsements, it’s clear that it’s what’s on the inside that counts for Kerry. The interview with writer, director, and Artistic Director of the Women’s March on Washington, Paola Mendoza, was a great read as Kerry filled us in on her projects and gave us insight on her deep connection to humanitarianism.
What some might not know is that The Women’s March wasn’t Kerry’s first rodeo.
The seasoned actress is no stranger at using her platform to speak for those who are oppressed. She is an ally to the plight of women, of black women, and of black people as a whole. She is an art advocate and fights to end violence against women. Read on to collect some other noteworthy quotes dropped by Kerry Washington in the feature interview.
On what Oprah Winfrey taught her:
I’ve been really trying to practice the Oprah Winfrey ritual: I check in with gratitude and grace when I wake up. I can be in a little bit of a state of overwhelm and panic if I don’t start out being connected to grace and gratitude.
On the importance of pacing yourself in everyday life:
We have to pace ourselves. That’s a big theme for me these days. I have to pace myself for this political moment. Pace myself for my relationship with my family. Pace myself in my career to get through the rest of the season with a new child and a toddler. It is about slowing down, but it’s also about being present. Not rushing ahead or being stuck in yesterday.
On how 40 differs from the milestone decades that came before it:
Life is just getting better. For me, 40 feels like a beginning. I’m in the middle of so much new—with this career, the kids, and I’m still sort of a newlywed. I’m excited to be at this stage in life.
On how much longer she sees herself in Oliva Pope’s shoes:
It’s not really up to me. It’s up to Shonda [Rhimes, Scandal’s creator] and to the network. Shonda has said from the beginning that she kind of knows how it ends. So I’m trusting her to guide the arc.
On art being a form of activism:
If society is telling us to look the other way, and you, as anybody from a disenfranchised community, are saying, “My story matters,” that is an act of activism. When Cicely Tyson wore her natural hair on television, it wasn’t considered beautiful for a black woman to wear her natural, textured hair. She made it mainstream. With Diahann Carroll, it was an act of activism just for her to be the lead on her own show, Julia. Art often leads to the opening of our thoughts as a society.
On the challenges of creating and cultivating self-love through self-care:
Sometimes, when we’re feeling challenged in life, we feel a pull to isolate, and for me part of the joy of being a wife, a mother, and in a cast of friends is allowing myself to be in spaces of love. So being open to that love. Then, for me, self-love is like: Am I sleeping enough? Eating well? Not: Am I eating well to be able to fit into my skinny jeans? But: Am I eating well to be healthy and strong? And to acknowledge the good, because there is always a lot of good.
On channeling her optimism to be the change she wishes to see in the world:
My deepest desire is to create a world where there’s room for all of us, where no matter who you are, you get to wake up in the morning and know that you are worthwhile and deserving. If that’s the world I want to live in, I have to do the work to make that true for me. I have to do the work of self-love and affirmation, and say, “I am a woman, I am a person of color, I am the granddaughter of immigrants, I am also the descendant of slaves, I am a mother, I am an entrepreneur, I am an artist, and I’m joyful.” And maybe in seeing my joy, you can finish your sentence with, “And I am joyful too.”
Kerry Washington’s May Glamour cover story is available on newsstands now. Read more of her interview with Paola here.
Photo Credit: PR Photos
