Her name is Kerry...

...she's so very...fly, oh my, it's a little bit scary, boys wanna marry, looking at her derri-ere...he he he...I'm such a cornball. This is not a post about Keri Hilson. It's a post about my Kerry Washington.



I love Kerry Washington. Before I go into why I love her, I think I need to give a little bit of history on Kerry Washington and I. I have never met or spoken to Kerry Washington. Nope. The first time I saw Kerry Washington was on screen when I went to see the movie, Save the Last Dance. It was not love at first sight either. I hated her. Acutally, not her. I hated her character in the movie because she was trying to block her brother from dating his (white girl)friend. I wanted Julia Stile's character and Sean Patrick Thomas's character to fall in love and live happily ever after without any obtacles. Her character created unwanted obstacles. I did think Kerry Washington was pretty though.

Anyways, after the movie, I didn't think about Kerry Washington much. I moved on with my life and I suspect she did the same. Then, one day, I was watching the 36th Annual NAACP Image Awards show where she was announced as the winner in the Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture category for her performance in the movie Ray. Now, let me tell you a little bit about that particular award show. It was an absolute joy to watch. Then Senator Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey were among the attendees, and, at some point Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey spoke. I was all kinds of impressed with most of the speeches, one of which was Kerry Washington's speech. I thought she was well spoken, and, I think I decided to go find out what the acronym NAACP meant because of her speech. :) It means National Association for the Advancement of Colored people, in case you were wondering.

A video of the speech:


I'd later see her in movies like The Last King of Scotland, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Fantastic Four, and in pictures on the Red Carpet at Cannes, where she carried out her duties as a brand ambassador for Loreal Cosmetics. Through it all, two things remained constant - I liked Kerry Washington and I thought she was pretty.

Then the whispers began.

Shonda Rhimes, one of the most powerful women in American television, and the brain behind the uber successful Grey's Anatomy, had created another show for ABC. I heard it was a show about  a powerful crisis manager on the political scene. The whispers suggested that the lead character of the show was African American and female and was inspired by Judy Smith, a crisis manager who has represented people like Monica Lewinsky, Michael Vick, and Kwame Kirkpatrick. I was intrigued. Those whispers were deemed credible and it was announced that Kerry Washington would play Olivia Pope in the show Scandal.

I didn't think Kerry could carry the show and I was worried. If you live in America and have paid attention to television shows then you probably know that network dramas showcasing Black actresses just don't happen in Hollywood. Heck, even shows showcasing Black talent are rare and usually don't last. So, like I said, I was worried. I didn't think Kerry Washington was popular enough to be the lead actress in Scandal and I thought she was too pretty and delicate to play a crisis manager on T.V., let alone one that was supposed to be as hardcore as Judy Smith is. I didn't think I'd watch the show but I did for two reasons: 1) It came on after Grey's Anatomy; and 2) I was curious to see how Kerry would do.  I'm glad to say I ended up loving it after a few episodes. (In fact, I love Scandal more than I love Grey's Anatomy and the only show that I love as much as Scandal is Suits.). It would be fair to say I am slightly obsessed with the show. *covers face*

As a result of my slight obsession with Scandal, I found Kerry Washington's twitter page because I wanted to hear her thoughts on the show and wanted to find out what she was up to. I discovered much more. She wasn't kidding when she told the NAACP to call on her in more than just music and acting. I found that Kerry Washington actively campaigned for Barack Obama's election campaign in 2004 and is doing so now. If you watched the 2012 Democratic National Convention in North Carolina, then you know she was one of the speakers there. She also has an honorary post on President Obama's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

I found myself falling...but I never thought "I love Kerry Washington" until the fateful day I learned about P-square's video featuring Rick Ross on her Twitter page. I fell and I don't think there's any turning back. I love my Kerry Washington and I cannot wait for the second season of Scandal to air tomorrow! Very excited!

Other Fun Tidbits on Kerry Washington:

• Kerry Washington is the first African American female lead on a major network T.V. show in over thirty years.
• She loves NPR.
• She is known to fly in cupcakes to the Scandal set for the cast and crew.
• She is one of the faces of Movado.
• She loves volunteering and has spent time volunteering through the Adopt-a-Classroom program in New York as well as with Co-Op America.
• She usually tries to keep something from every character that she plays, such as an item of wardrobe or a piece of furniture from the house the character lived in.
• She grew up blocks away from Jennifer Lopez and attended the all-girls Spence School with actress, Gwyneth Paltrow.

There. Now you know about Kerry and I's history.

What are your thoughts? Who else is excited to watch Scandal tomorrow? Do you love the show? Do you think Kerry Washington is doing a good job? What are you most looking forward to? I would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks! :)