Kerry Washington Is Really Close to Her Parents: All We Know about Earl and Valerie Washington

Kerry Washington's parents, Earl Washington and Valerie Washington, have become fan favorites on Instagram despite not having their own accounts. The famous actress's parents regularly appear on their daughter's page and have won the hearts of many with their cute videos and dad jokes.

Kerry pursued a career as an actress in her twenties when she landed a role in an independent film in 2000. Since then, she's starred in the hit series "Scandal" and appeared alongside Jamie Foxx in the highest-earning Quentin Tarantino movie, "Django Unchained."

However, the actress revealed her mother had difficulty accepting her daughter's career path, fearing that Kerry would become a starving artist. That did not stop the mother-daughter duo—and Kerry's father—from sharing a close bond and gracing the timeline of Kerry's 7 million followers with humorous clips.

Kerry Washington Is the Only Child of Earl and Valerie Washington

Valerie worked as a professor of education while her husband was a real estate broker for most of their daughter's childhood. Although Earl's family had lived in Brooklyn for around five generations, he and Valerie raised their daughter in Castle Hill, in the Bronx.

Valeria spent much of her life giving back to the Bronx community but sent her daughter to Spence, a private all-girls school in the Upper East Side, where Kelly's peers included Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez taught her dance lessons. While speaking about her parents' mixed background, Valerie and Earl's daughter said:

"My mother comes from a mixed-race background, but from Jamaica, so she is partly English and Scottish and Native American, but also descended from African slaves in the Caribbean. My dad's family... from South Carolina, and we are not sure which members of his family were slaves and which were free blacks."

In 2021, Kelly shared a black-and-white picture of Earl's family circa 1950 and revealed that the humor fans had come to love in the clips Kerry posted had been his "superpower" all his life.

In 2022, Earl and Valerie celebrated their 50th anniversary, and their daughter shared a throwback picture of them from their special day. During their 50-year relationship, Earl and Valerie only welcomed one child.

Kerry Washington Says Mother Valerie Begged Her to Become a Lawyer

In 2020, Kerry revealed that her mother had strongly encouraged her to go to Law school. "My mother's nightmare was for me to be a starving actress," Kerry said.

Valerie explained to her daughter that she would face challenges as a woman of color, let alone one trying to break into the acting industry. So she tried to sway her daughter toward a career as a lawyer. Kerry said:

"Oh my God, it's what she begged me to do. She used to say to me, 'Closing arguments are just like monologues.' She was terrified to have a starving artist of a child."

Kerry Washington Often Shares Adorable and Funny Videos with Her Father

Alongside the multiple pictures Kerry shared of her father, the actress also shared cute videos of Earl that have garnered thousands of views. In 2021, Earl joined his daughter in honor of Tell a Joke day and was dubbed "The Dad Joke King" by fans.

Earl pulled on fans' heartstrings again that same year when his daughter shared a video of them grooving in a salsa-inspired dance video. One person commented, "Kerrrrrryyyyyyy!!!! This footage is SACRED!!!!! Omg LOVEEEEEEE!"

The following year, Earl was a highly-requested guest on his daughter's internet series "Street You Grew Up On" before his wife joined the fun in honor of her birthday in December 2022.

Valerie threw her hat in the ring in Earl and Kerry's joke-telling videos when her daughter took a video of her wishing her mom a happy birthday.

When Valerie's daughter asked her if she had any New Year goals, Valerie replied, "I do, I do. But first, I need my glasses." After handing her confused daughter a pair of reading glasses, Valerie gave Kerry Washington a wine glass as she finally got the joke.