Kerry Washington Recalls Taking Responsibility For Her Healing After Learning Her Dad Wasn't Her Birth Father

Kerry Washington On Healing After Finding Out Her Father Is Not Her Biological Father

The recent revelation set Washington on a path of soul-searching to reconcile with the weight of the truth while learning to accept the decisions of her parents despite the impact on her life.

“It’s been good to understand who they were to have compassion for their choices, but I can’t blame them for where I am now,” she tells the co-hosts. “Now that I have awareness, I have to say, okay, they gave me everything they could, with as much love as they could.”

Washington continues, “In the places that I feel like I don’t have the tools that I needed… part of being an adult is to say, how do I give myself those tools? How do I ask for help — in therapy, in reading, in coaches? How do I now close the gap between what they gave me and what I need? That’s my responsibility as an adult.”

Kerry Washington on 'Finding Your Roots'

During her appearance on the PBS series Finding Your Roots in 2018, Kerry Washington reveals that she received a call from her parents, who had something they wanted to urgently discuss.

In her book, she says that her father began having panic attacks in fear of what the show would uncover, to which her parents eventually disclosed the truth about her conception: they had faced fertility issues and chose artificial insemination, and preferred not to know the biological father's identity.

Years of living her life in the shadows of her parents' secret has since inspired Washington to reclaim a life of her own as opposed to being the supporting character of her parent’s story. “It was time for me to step into being the lead character in the story of my life,” she says.

“To not let my life belong to them. To say that I deserve to be on this journey, this quest, because I have my own story,” she adds. “It’s my turn to kind of take this narrative and figure out what my life means for me.”

This unearthing has provided Washington with deeper empathy and compassion for her parents' decisions while embracing the importance of living in your truth and not being confined to the shame of the past.

“I think when we can let go of the things that keep our true selves hidden, we can let go of our shame,” she says. “I want people to know that you deserve to live in your truth and be in your truth.”

“Not everyone has to know everything,” she continues, “but you deserve to be loved for who you are, so find those safe spaces.”

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