Kerry Washington made her debut in 1994 in the Episode: "Magical Make-Over" in the American television anthology series ‘ABC Afterschool Special.’ In 2000, she made her big-screen debut in the American coming of age drama film ‘Our Song’ directed by Jim McKay. The film received positive reviews from critics. The following year, she starred as ‘Chenille’ in the American teen dance film ‘Save the Last Dance’ directed by Thomas Carter. The film opened to a mixed reception and was a massive box office success, grossing over $131.7 million against a budget of $13 million. She went on to star in films like ‘Bad Company’ (2002), ‘The United States of Leland’ (2003), ‘The Human Stain’ (2003), ‘Sin’ (2003), ‘Against the Ropes’ (2004), ‘She Hate Me’ (2004), ‘Ray’ (2004), and ‘Fantastic Four’ (2005).
In 2005, Washington became a part of the American legal comedy-drama television series ‘Boston Legal.’ She played the role of ‘Chelina Hall’ and remained a part of the series until 2006. She was next seen in the 2006 British historical drama film ‘The Last King of Scotland’ directed by Kevin Macdonald. The film opened to critical acclaim and was a phenomenal commercial success, grossing over $48.4 million on a budget of $6 million. Washington also won the ‘Black Reel Award,’ ‘NAACP Image Award,’ and ‘BET Award’ nominations for her performance in the film.
She was next seen in films like ‘Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer’ (2007), ‘Miracle at St. Anna’ (2008), ‘Lakeview Terrace’ (2008), ‘Life Is Hot in Cracktown’ (2009), ‘Mother and Child’ (2009), ‘Night Catches Us’ (2010), ‘For Colored Girls’ (2010), and ‘The Details’ (2011). In 2012, she starred as Broomhilda "Hildi" von Shaft in the American Revisionist Western film ‘Django Unchained’ directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film opened to universal acclaim and did a decent business at the box office. That same year, Washington also joined the main cast of the American political thriller television series ‘Scandal’ created by Shonda Rhimes. She played the role of ‘Olivia Pope’ which earned her several awards including 3 ‘NAACP Image Awards,’ and ‘BET Award.’ The series ran for 6 years and aired its final episode in 2018.
Washington went on to appear in films like ‘Peeples’ (2013), ‘Cars 3’ (2017), ‘American Son’ (2019), and ‘The Fight’ (2020). She was last seen in the 2020 American musical comedy film ‘The Prom’ directed by Ryan Murphy. The film received a mixed response from critics. She is all set to appear in the upcoming young adult fantasy film ‘The School for Good and Evil’ directed by Paul Feig.