Washington, 40, has taken after her “Scandal” character by embracing who she is without question — and teaching her kids to do the same.
“I like to wear my natural texture, especially now because I have children and I want them to know that their hair is perfect as it is. They don’t have to change it or straighten it. They can, but they don’t have to,” the mother of two said in Allure’s November issue.
While Olivia may appear effortlessly flawless on screen, Washington revealed that the beauty routine for her on-screen counterpart is anything but.
“There’s someone who follows me around all day long [on the set],” she said. “Like, literally follows me to make sure there’s not a single hair out of place. This is somebody’s full-time job. Then someone follows me around to add powder so that I never look shinier than I’m supposed to.”
With “Scandal” currently in its sixth and final season, Washington said playing Olivia Pope has prepared her for her new role as a producer, most recently for HBO’s “Confirmation.”
“It’s kind of like being the Olivia Pope of television. You get to change people’s lives and fix problems and be grounded and assertive and of service,” she said. “So it really is a lot of things that I felt Olivia has taught me to do in pretend and then to apply those skills when I produce.”
Though Olivia seems to flit through the West Wing with endless energy and a knack for being one step ahead of the news, in her day-to-day life Washington said that news fatigue is definitely a real thing.
“I have to dip in and dip out, because it suffocates me. Like, I become unable to function,” Washington revealed. “So it’s a tricky balance between staying aware and also staying connected to a sense of hope and productivity and showing up for life.”
While Washington clearly has it together in real life, she warned that people should refrain from calling her for their scandal fixing needs.
“People call me to say, ‘I have this problem. Can I talk to you about it?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t even want to know! Just skip over me,’ ” the actress said. “But I know secrets.”
Culled from: pagesix
