Born in New York, NY on Jan. 31, 1977, Kerry Washington grew up in the Bronx. After the sixth grade, Washington left public school to attend junior high and high school at the prestigious Spence School for Girls in Manhattan. She later attended the theater program at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. As a presidential performing arts scholar, Washington created a personalized major called Performance Studies, which allowed her to examine the role performing arts played in a community. While attending G.W., Washington worked closely with the local theater community and helped create a support system for people of color in the arts called Shades of the Fine Arts. After graduation, Washington spent three months in India to immerse herself in a foreign culture and to touch-up on her yoga skills.
Returning to United States, Washington moved back home with her parents, where she lived while starring in her first feature film, "Our Song" (2000). Though already 22 at the time, Washington convincingly played a wise, but vulnerable, 16-year-old from the Crown Heights projects in Brooklyn. Despite the difference in age, Washington’s obvious and special connection to the character showed, winning raves for her performance which echoed across the film festival circuit. In her first major film, "Save the Last Dance" (2001), Washington gave another breakthrough performance as a street-smart teenage mom who takes in a suburban white girl (Julia Stiles) who has just transferred to an inner-city school. The surprise hit positioned Washington to play meatier roles, as her stock went up in the casting world.
For her next notable project, the made-for-cable crime drama, "Lift" (Showtime, 2002), Washington played a petty thief forced to give up her way of life to mend a broken relationship with her mother. Critically acclaimed for her performance, the role ended up earning Washington a 2002 Independent Spirit Award nomination. Coming off such critical acclaim, she next sadly appeared in the blockbuster disappointment, "Bad Company" (2002) – a purported action-comedy that starred heavy-hitters Chris Rock and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Unfortunately, the movie failed to make a connection with neither audiences or critics. In response, Washington once again moved back to giving outstanding performances in smaller fare such as in "The United States of Leland" (2003), a sullen drama about a suburban teen who commits a shocking crime. Though Washington’s performance was singled out for special praise, the film itself was widely criticized for being another maudlin and self-important independent film.
Washington got a similar reception with her next project, "The Human Stain" (2003) – a film about a university professor hiding his true identity, which reunited Washington with her “Bad Company” co-star, Sir Tony Hopkins. Unfortunately, it too, proved to be box office flop. Despite the failures on her resume, however, Washington continued on her career track with typical charm and good cheer. She scored the lead role in "She Hate Me" (2004), a Spike Lee Joint about a down-and-out biotech executive (Anthony Mackie) who is offered some easy money when his ex-girlfriend-turned-lesbian (Washington) offers cash to impregnate her and her girlfriend. Once again, critics and audiences failed to appreciate the film.
Luckily, Washington finally managed to score big with her winning performance as Della Bea Robinson in director Taylor Hackford’s "Ray" (2004), a biopic about the late, great genius of soul, Ray Charles. Lauded by critics and frequented by audiences, “Ray” eventually won its star, Jamie Foxx, a much-deserved Oscar for Best Actor in a Motion Picture. Washington, too, received kudos for her performance as Charles’ strong and resolute second wife who endured his drug abuse and infidelity. Meanwhile, she received another crack at major exposure when she signed on to play Alicia Masters, the blind love interest of the Thing (Michael Chiklis) in the big screen adaptation of the comic book classic, "The Fantastic Four" (2005). Though the character was originally conceived as a blond-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian woman in the comic books, director Tim Story re-cast the part to accommodate Washington – a move based entirely on her obvious talent.
Prior to the comic book adventure, Washington played the only friend and cohort of an assassin (Angelina Jolie) who is married to a seemingly boring husband (Brad Pitt) and trapped in a ho-hum suburban life in the action-thriller, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” (2005). She also played an unsuspecting Chicago suburbanite who comes into possession of a stolen diamond, leading three-foot-high jewel thief (Marlon Wayans) to pose as a baby to get back his prize in the misbegotten comedy, “Little Man” (2006), another tasteless and unfunny comedy from the Brothers Wayans.
In 2006, the actress made a dazzling, dramatic turn co-starring in “The Last King of Scotland” (2006). Cast as Kay Amin, the out-of-favor wife of despot Idi Amin – played by an intense and charismatic Forest Whitaker, who also nabbed a Best Actor Oscar. In the prestigious film, Washington embarked on a risky affair with the genocidal dictator’s personal physician (James McAvoy). Returning to comedic fare, Washington starred once again opposite Chris Rock in “I Think I Love My Wife” (2007), a romantic comedy about a happily married office worker who daydreams about other women until he encounters the mistress of an old friend who tries to seduce him. Chocking up yet another crowd-pleaser, in 2007, Washington subsequently revived the role of Alicia Masters for the inevitable sequel, “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.”