Jamaican Descent Actress Kerry Washington Wins Her First Emmy Award

Jamaican Descent Actress Kerry Washington Wins Her First Emmy Award

Photo – Kerry Washington IG

By StephanieK, Jamaicans.com

American actress Kerry Washington, perhaps best known for her role as “Olivia Pope” on the television series “Scandal,” has won her first Emmy. She received the honor for her work as executive producer on the ABC television network’s Live In Front Of A Studio Audience: “All In The Family” And “Good Times.” at the 2020 Creative Arts Emmys on September 15, 2020. The show received the award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).

Washington celebrated her win on Instagram, posting that she was “So proud of @simpsonstreet and this incredible cast and crew.” She launched Simpson Street, her production company, in 2016. She was nominated for four Emmys in 2020: three for her role as executive producer and one for lead actress. Her other producer nominations were for her work on “American Son” in the Outstanding Television Movie category and “Little Fires Everywhere” in the Outstanding Limited Series category. Washington, 43, was also nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie category for her role as “Mia Warren” in “Little Fires Everywhere.” She took to Instagram to thank everyone who watched the programs and “who fell in love with these characters and identified with these stories,” along with everyone who worked on the shows and put their efforts toward “making something brilliant and important.”

Kerry Washington, whose mother Dr. Valerie Washington is from Jamaica, is very proud of her island heritage, stating “I bow down to my lineage, to my heritage, to my history and to my belonging.” She was honored with an Artistic Achievement Award at Jamaica’s 57th Independence Black Tie Gala and received international recognition for her role as “Olivia Pope.” She was presented with a Congressional Proclamation from the United States House of Representatives member Yvette D. Clarke, and has long been a favorite of Jamaicans on the island and in the Diaspora. She was honored by Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who invited her to visit the island for a family vacation. He went on to note that Jamaicans have been recognized for their work in cinematography, movies, and drama, and have provided the country with “great brand value.” Washington’s recognition was an indication of that, he added.

Washington’s career breakthrough came in 2004 when she appeared as Della Bea Robinson, the wife of musician Ray Charles, in “Ray,” a role for which she won “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” at the NAACP Image Awards in 2005. Over even seasons of the TV drama series “Scandal,” Washington received two Primetime Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe nomination, a SAG nomination, and two NAACP Image Awards. She is currently brand ambassador and creative consultant for Neutrogena. In 2013 she was ranked second on People magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People list.

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