Kerry Washington in Marie Claire: “I Didn’t Grow Up Thinking I Was Pretty”

‘Scandal’ star Kerry Washington lands the April 2015 cover from Marie Claire US. Photographed by Tesh, Kerry wears designer looks in a black and white color palette. For her interview, Kerry opens up about growing up, family and her character Olivia Pope on ‘Scandal’.
On growing up: “I didn’t grow up thinking I was pretty; there was always a prettier girl than me. So I learned to be smart and tried to be funny and develop the inside of me, because I felt like that’s what I had.”
On family: “I just want [daughter Isabelle] to know that she’s heard. Really heard, because I feel like that is what we all really want. When I think about any of the missteps in my life that I’ve made, all of which I’m grateful for, it’s because I just so wanted to be truly seen and heard for who I am and was afraid I wasn’t or wouldn’t be. I see you, I hear you, I’m with you as you are.”
On Olivia Pope: “I don’t think I consciously say, ‘What would Olivia Pope do?’ but there’s a new thread of belief in my own capacity that I think comes from her. She makes it happen. She figures it out. She fixes it.”