Kerry Washington is opening up like we’ve never seen her before ahead of the release of her new memoir, Thicker Than Water, recently revealing shocking details about her biological father.
Suggested Reading
Speaking to the New York Times, the Scandal star shared that the man she thought was her father was not and that she found that out thanks to Henry Louis “Skip” Gates (founder of the The Root) and his Finding Your Roots series.
Washington explained that when she went to go collect DNA samples from both her parents, they were initially hesitant and that raised some red flags. Gates then had a conversation with Washington’s parents privately where they asked him if “the possibility that Washington not being their biological child would “come up in the testing.” As a result, he urged them to have a talk with he Django Unchained star about their worries sooner rather than later.
Upon discovering that the man she had always known as her father was indeed not and that she was a product of a sperm donor, Washington said that it helped contextualize some of the feelings of disconnect she’d always had with her dad.
“I’ve always had this weird disconnect with my dad, but I thought that was my fault. I thought I wasn’t a kind enough person,” she told the NYT. “But the idea that I was not his never occurred to me. It was just, ‘Why can’t I be better to him? Why can’t we be closer? What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with us?’”
She later shared that her mother had intended to eventually tell her the truth about her father by leaving a note in a safe deposit box, but she doesn’t understand why she didn’t just tell her now that she’s an adult.
“I was birthed into a lie. I was playing a supporting character in my parents’ story,” she explained. “I know that their intention was to protect me, to love me, to take care of me, to keep my world simple. I get many years of not telling me, but I’ve been an adult for over two decades.”
While the Little Fires Everywhere actress hasn’t been able to find her biological father yet, she’s “forever grateful” to Gates for the experience and the show.
“I’m still missing this piece of not knowing where half of my biology comes from,” she said. “At least I don’t have any of the wrong pieces in the puzzle anymore.”
Thicker Than Water is slated to release on Sep. 26.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.