Kerry Washington Covers April 2015 Issue of Marie Claire

Kerry Washington is the gorgeous cover girl for the April 2015 issue of Marie Claire magazine. Inside, she talks about cherishing her privacy, loving fashion, her insecurities while growing up and appreciating her daughter.


In her cover story, written by Girls actress and Washington's personal friend Lena Dunham, Scandal's leading lady spoke candidly about appreciating her privacy with age: "Earlier in my career, I was much more super sharey," she said. "There were moments when I wanted to process things that were happening to me more privately, and I didn't have the space to do it, because once you let people in, they're in and you don't get to say, 'Oh, I want this for myself.'"

While her newfound philosophy on privacy has come with maturity, so did her fashion sense, which she says she has been "figuring out" for some time: "I just put myself in a boot camp of figuring it out — and realized that I really loved it," she said. "I guess because I came to it later in life, I realized, 'Oh, going to a fashion show is like going to the opening of Degas at the Met or going to see Swan Lake."


While the George Washington University graduate is undeniably gorgeous, she has not always thought so of herself, remembering that she was insecure about her appearance as a child. She, instead, channeled her focus on her intelligence and natural smarts.

"I didn't grow up thinking I was pretty; there was always a prettier girl than me," she said. "So I learned to be smart and tried to be funny and develop the inside of me, because I felt like that's what I had."

Now that she is a mom, the Bronx native just wants her daughter to always feel beautiful, appreciated and acknowledged, especially by her. "I just want [daughter Isabelle] to know that she's heard," she said. "Really heard, because I feel like that is what we all really want... I see you, I hear you, I'm with you as you are."

The April 2015 issue of Marie Claire hits newsstands on March 24.