Celebrating Kerry Washington

The Paley Center for Media today announced that it will pay tribute to the extraordinary Kerry Washington with the special program Celebrating Kerry Washington: Conversation & Exclusive Preview Screening of Little Fires Everywhere. The program will take place on Tuesday, March 17 at 7:30 pm.

“I’m truly honored to be returning to the Paley Center stage for this look back at my work,” said Kerry Washington. “And I’m thrilled to be previewing Little Fires Everywhere, as part of this extraordinary evening.”

Kerry Washington is among the most respected and influential talents in television today. A New York native, this versatile talent has proven she can do it all.

Ms. Washington changed the landscape of television by becoming the first African-American woman since 1974 to headline a network TV drama as crisis manager Olivia Pope on the Peabody Award-winning Scandal. Over the course of seven seasons, she earned two Primetime Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe nomination, a SAG nomination, and two NAACP Image awards for her leading role. In the final season, Washington also served as a producer and directed one of the episodes.

In addition to Scandal, Ms. Washington has also acted in other prestigious television projects including her acclaimed performance as Anita Hill in the HBO movie Confirmation, as host of Saturday Night Live, and most recently as Helen Willis in the Emmy Award-winning Live In Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s The Jeffersons. She has also directed episodes of SMILF and Insecure.

This March, Washington will be seen opposite Reese Witherspoon in the new Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere, which Simpson Street produced alongside Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. The Paley Center will show an exclusive screening of the premiere episode of Little Fires Everywhere followed by an extended Q&A with Ms. Washington.

In addition to her work on stage and screen, Ms. Washington is active in many vital social and political causes. She served on President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. In 2013, she was honored with the NAACP President’s Award, which recognized her special achievements in furthering the cause of civil rights and public service. In 2014, Time magazine included Washington on its annual Time 100 list of the Most Influential People in the World. Washington received the GLAAD Media Vanguard Award in 2015 and the ACLU Bill of Rights Award in 2016. In 2018, Washington joined Natalie Portman, America Ferrera, Reese Witherspoon, and many more in the Time’s Up movement.

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Photo Credit: Denis Makarenko / Shutterstock.com