Kerry Washington (born January 31, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ray Charles' wife, Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray (2004), and Alicia Masters in the 2005 live-action Fantastic Four film and its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. She has also starred in the critically acclaimed independent films Our Song and The Dead Girl.
Washington was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York, the daughter of a successful real estate broker father and a professor and educational consultant mother. She attended The Spence School in Manhattan, graduating in 1994; fellow alumni include Gwyneth Paltrow and Emmy Rossum. Washington went on to earn a theater degree in 1998 from George Washington University.
Washington made her screen debut in the ABC telefilm Magical Make-Over (1994). She was in the cast of the 1996 PBS sketch comedy-style educational series Standard Deviants, and she appeared in the short "3D" and the feature film Our Song in 2000. She went on to roles in several movies, including Save the Last Dance (2001), The Human Stain (2003), Spike Lee's She Hate Me (2004), Ray (2004), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), I Think I Love My Wife (2007), Little Man (2006), and, in a departure, an accented, period role as a wife of 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the UK historical drama The Last King of Scotland (2006). Washington has also appeared in the recurring role Chelina Hall on the ABC television series Boston Legal, and in several episodes of the A&E cable-TV series 100 Centre Street.
She is the new spokeperson for L'Oreal starring in commercials and ads alongside fellow actresses Scarlett Johansson and Eva Longoria, and model Doutzen Kroes.
She also co-directed and appeared in the music video for hip-hop artist Common's song, "I Want You", The fourth single off of his album Finding Forever.
Washington was engaged to actor David Moscow from October 2004 to March 2007.
As a sort of souvenir/memento, she usually tries keep something from every character that she plays whether it is an item of wardrobe or a piece of furniture from the house that the character lived in.
