She discussed her discovery that her father was not her biological parent in her memoir Thicker Than Water.
And Kerry Washington shed some light on why she spoke about the situation so publicly in a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK.
She said: ‘For a long time, it felt very right for me to maintain more privacy, particularly after my loss of anonymity.
‘But then when my parents shared this information with me, to not be more transparent about the shifting nature in our family dynamic felt like I was perpetuating a false narrative that they had given me.
‘I was ready to share more of myself as I was on this journey of self-discovery.’
Opening up: Kerry Washington says she publicly revealed her dad is not her biological father because she didn’t want to ‘perpetuate a false narrative’
The truth: The actress, 46, said she learned in 2018 that the man she called ‘Dad’ was not her biological father
The actress, 46, said she learned in 2018 that the man she called ‘Dad’ was not her biological father.
She revealed she learned the truth of her parentage some five years ago when she was invited to participate in an episode of Finding Your Roots, hosted on PBS by Dr. Henry Louis Gates
Speaking out: The star shed some light on why she spoke about the situation so publicly in a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK
The show uses genealogical records and DNA results to track family histories.
‘When I said, ‘Spit in this tube,’ they started freaking out,’ Kerry told The New York Times about her parents’ reaction to the DNA test.
‘My mom was like, ‘I didn’t know that this was going to happen.”
The Prophecy star said her father began having panic attacks and suffering from insomnia, and decided to pull out of the show.
After being advised by Gates to reveal the information while all parties were still alive, her parents scheduled a meeting with the Emmy winner.
During their 2018 get together, Kerry’s parents revealed they had used an anonymous sperm donor after they had trouble conceiving naturally.
It comes after Kerry said the reveal of a family secret launched her desire to write her new memoir, Thicker Than Water.
Kerry explained: ‘I was ready to share more of myself as I was on this journey of self-discovery.’
During their 2018 get together, Kerry’s parents revealed they had used an anonymous sperm donor after they had trouble conceiving naturally
The Reasonable Doubt director believes her subconscious reaction to the idea that something wasn’t quite right may have contributed to her years of struggling with anxiety, self-esteem issues and an eating disorder.
Kerry has not yet been able to discover anything about the sperm donor.
After getting the information, the first time author decided to change the topic of her book.
She had originally signed on to write a manuscript based on the life lessons she learned playing Washington fixer Olivia Pope for six years on the hit drama Scandal.
‘Any attempt I made to sit down and write about my life and not include this new information, it just felt impossible,’ she told the Times.
‘I tried to give the publisher their money back.’
Instead, she and Little, Brown Spark, settled on the memoir.
Kerry admits her parents are not crazy about her publishing a book that includes their family secrets, but are supportive of the effort.
She has also managed to put her father at ease about their relationship, telling him, ‘I’m not going anywhere, you’re not going anywhere, you’re my dad. Now when I say ‘I love you, it’s not because of who you’re pretending to be in my life, it’s because of who you are.’
Stunning: During the Harper’s Bazaar front cover shoot, Kerry put on a very leggy display in a lace maxi dress with a daring thigh-high split
Wow! In another snap, Kerry oozed confidence as she donned a backless black ball gown with pearl detail
During the Harper’s Bazaar front cover shoot, Kerry put on a very leggy display in a lace maxi dress with a daring thigh-high split.
She then slipped into a glamorous metallic gown which shows off her incredible figure.
In another snap, Kerry oozed confidence as she donned a backless black ball gown with pearl detail.
Her long brunette locks were styled in a glamorous blow-dry and she accessorised with dazzling silver jewellery.
