Kerry Washington Reveals Her Dad Is Not Her Biological Father in New Memoir

Kerry Washington is getting candid about her family in her new memoir.

The 46-year-old actress has shared a revelation concerning her relation with father Earl Washington in her book titled Thicker Than Water.

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Kerry revealed that Earl is not her biological father and that discovering the news changed her perspective on life.

“It really turned my world upside down,” the former Scandal star told People.

Kerry learned that she was not biologically related to Earl in 2018 before she appeared on the PBS series Finding Your Roots. After hiding the secret from her for her whole life, Earl and Kerry‘s mother Valerie had discussed the revelation with the show’s host Henry Louis Gates Jr. before telling Kerry.

“When I got this information, I was like, ‘Oh. I now know my story,’” Kerry continued “I didn’t know what my story was, but I was playing the supporting character in their story.”

The How to Get Away with Murder actress noted that, while it was a difficult moment for her parents, she felt relieved to know the truth about her family history and that she has since begun a journey of self-discovery that led her to writing Thicker Than Water.

“This is really kind of me working to understand my life up until now, given this new information that I have that, in many ways, felt like sort of the missing puzzle piece,” Kerry said. “I really started to have so much more love and compassion and understanding for my parents. “Taking this deep dive into our family history made me put myself in their shoes and think about the things that they’ve had to navigate and what they’ve been through and what they’ve sacrificed. And it really made me feel closer to them.”

Kerry Washington recently opened up about how struggling with an eating disorder impacted her mental health.