Winx Health<\/a>, a sexual and reproductive health company. ‘I feel like women\u2019s sexual health is so often swept under the rug,’ Kerry says. ‘I love that Winx is so committed to putting our health and wellness front and centre and not acting like this is a shameful product line.’ (Fun fact: As a teen, Kerry performed in a theatre company educating young people about safe sex.)<\/p>\n‘For me, a lot of the companies that I partner with are about figuring out how to bring something that I\u2019ve had access to because I\u2019ve been lucky, or privileged, or blessed in some way,’ Kerry says.<\/p>\n
‘[I want to help] figure out how to make it so that I\u2019m not the exception, but I can share some of these tools with a wider community that I think is in need and deserving.’ <\/p>\n
Moving forward<\/h2>\n
The themes of privilege and community also play a big role in Kerry\u2019s next project, the political crime thriller Animals<\/em> (streaming on Netflix October 9), in which she portrays a therapist and the wife of Ben Affleck\u2019s Los Angeles mayoral candidate, whose son is kidnapped and held for ransom. And yes, she definitely took inspiration from therapists of yore when crafting her character, Abigail.<\/p>\n‘It was fun to sit in that chair,’ Kerry says. ‘I have found that therapists often \u2013 even though they seem to have all the answers \u2013 have very complicated lives themselves. It\u2019s that idea of “Physician, heal thyself.”\u200a’<\/p>\n
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Dana Scruggs<\/span><\/figcaption>Vuori <\/strong>Sweater, Swedish Stockings<\/strong> Leg Warmers (stylist\u2019s own), Fiametta<\/strong> earrings, all other pieces Kerry\u2019s own jewelry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAnimals<\/em> marks something of a departure for Kerry, whose preference in recent years has been to take on only the projects in which she also serves as a producer, to ensure that she has agency. But she says the prospect of working with Affleck, who also produces and directs the film, ultimately persuaded her to sign on.<\/p>\n‘If I\u2019m going to join a project where I\u2019m not a producer, which is very rare now, I have to have so much faith and trust in the people who are steering the ship,’ she says. ‘This was one of those situations where I knew that I would be seen and heard and that my opinion would be valued and taken into account.’ <\/p>\n
Despite the many projects she\u2019s appeared in over the past decade, from portraying Anita Hill in the HBO film Confirmation<\/em> to starring as a driven career woman in the Apple TV series Imperfect Women<\/em>, it\u2019s still her iconic role as Washington, D.C., fixer Olivia Pope in Scandal<\/em> that fans gush about the most when they speak to her \u2013 with one caveat.<\/p>\n‘Often, people will very quickly offer a second thing, almost to say, “I\u2019m a real fan,”‘ Kerry says, grinning. ‘They\u2019ll say, “I love Scandal<\/em>, but also your first movie, Our Song<\/em>.” Or, “I love Scandal<\/em>, but I\u2019ve seen everything you\u2019ve done on Broadway.” It\u2019s sweet to see the different places where I\u2019ve been able to intersect with people\u2019s lives.’<\/p>\nThe enduring appeal of Shonda Rhimes\u2019s political intrigue isn\u2019t hard to understand, given its whip-smart writing, high-stakes drama, and cast of gifted actors. And for Kerry, that ensemble (and their partners) have become a second family \u2013 so much so that when Kerry is trying to track down Tony Goldwyn (a.k.a. on-screen love President Fitzgerald Grant), she\u2019ll ask her real-life husband, former NFL player and actor\/producer Nnamdi Asomugha, if he knows where Goldwyn is at that moment. ‘They\u2019re so close,’ Kerry says. ‘It\u2019s lovely.’<\/p>\n
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Dana Scruggs<\/span><\/figcaption>Alo<\/strong> top and shorts, Melinda Maria<\/strong> earrings, Kerry\u2019s own jewelry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhen I ask Kerry if she would ever consider a Scandal<\/em> reunion \u2013 Scandal: The Movie<\/em>?! \u2013 she replies that she thinks so, if the pieces all fell into place. ‘I would be game if it was done the right way, and if the right people were involved, and if everybody committed,’ she says.<\/p>\nWhether she chooses to once again don Olivia Pope\u2019s four-inch Louboutins, take a chance on a new headlining role, or finally sit in the director\u2019s chair for a feature-length film (one of her career goals), Kerry\u2019s approach is to have an open mind and a full heart.<\/p>\n
‘I want to continue to be brave about my choices and challenge myself,’ she says. ‘The artists that I look up to the most are the people who kept reinventing themselves and challenging themselves \u2013 the multi-hyphenates like Barbra Streisand, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson, Rita Moreno, and Jane Fonda. Those are my lighthouses.’<\/p>\n
In order to shine like her idols and be present for her family and friends and the industry folks she\u2019s trying to bring up with her, she knows that she has to be at the top of her game, both physically and mentally.<\/p>\n
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![\"Aerial](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/a4eda2d5-8f57-4c63-b8f7-658b43cf9ede.jpg?crop=0.779xw:0.759xh;0.108xw,0.158xh&resize=980:*\" "\\"Aerial")
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Dana Scruggs<\/span><\/figcaption>Vuori<\/strong> top and shorts, Fiametta<\/strong> earrings, Kerry\u2019s own jewelry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘I need to be strong. I need to be alert. I need to be embodied,’ she says. ‘I need to be not focused on shaming myself and in a spiral of what else I should be or do. But I need to be in a place of loving myself and knowing that I have things to contribute, so that I can contribute them and not be that 19-year-old girl hiding under the covers because I ate those three boxes of pizza and two pints of ice cream, and I want to kill myself because I don\u2019t feel like I deserve better.’<\/p>\n
Through therapy, advocacy, investment, and, yes, Pilates, Kerry has managed to craft a routine that helps her find her way back to her body and herself, whenever she needs it: ‘I get to get out of the shame, get out of the bed, and be in a life that is beyond my wildest dreams because of the healing work that I have done and continue to do.’ <\/p>\n
\nExecutive Editor:<\/strong> Abigail Cuffey
Photographs:<\/strong> Dana Scruggs
Styling:<\/strong> Rob Zangardi + Mariel Hanne,
Styling Assisting:<\/strong> Lee Hayman
Hair:<\/strong> Nai’Vasha Grace using Curl Queen + Oribe
Makeup:<\/strong> Keita Moore at The Only Agency using Nars
Nails:<\/strong> Pattie Yankee at Opus Beauty using Essie
Set Design:<\/strong> Natalia and Odin
Pilates Instruction:<\/strong> Erika Bloom
Deputy Visual Director:<\/strong> Muzam Agha
Creative Director:<\/strong> Jamie Prokell
Video Executive Producer:<\/strong> Dorenna Newton
Video Producer:<\/strong> Janie Booth
Video DP:<\/strong> Alvah Holmes
Video Editor:<\/strong> Josh Archer
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![\"Headshot](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/rover\/profile_photos\/25b8e4ed-cd77-4159-9e7d-c6348714482b_1737125109.file?fill=1:1&resize=120:*\" "\\"Headshot")
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Amy Wilkinson is a contributing entertainment editor at Women’s Health, where she edits the magazine’s celebrity cover stories and writes health features. She has previously held editor titles at Entertainment Weekly and MTV News. In 2021, Amy completed her 600-hour teacher-training at Core Pilates NYC to become a comprehensively trained Pilates instructor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s no secret that actors rely on an array of behind-the-scenes professionals \u2013 makeup artists, costume designers, dialect coaches, voice teachers \u2013 to help them get into character. For Hollywood star Kerry Washington, that list includes another, far more unorthodox, advisor: her longtime pilates instructor Erika Bloom. ‘The way that I develop character is often […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-workout"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernfitnessguide.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernfitnessguide.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernfitnessguide.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernfitnessguide.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernfitnessguide.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/modernfitnessguide.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernfitnessguide.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernfitnessguide.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernfitnessguide.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernfitnessguide.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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