NAACP Image Awards: 6 Roles From Kerry Washington That Show Her Range
Kerry Washington has never been a one-note performer. She doesn’t just play characters — she builds emotional ecosystems. Her roles live in memory because they feel lived in, layered, and human.
With her nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture at this year’s NAACP Image Awards, it’s the perfect moment to revisit the performances that show just how wide her range really is — from vulnerable to vicious, romantic to revolutionary.
Here are six roles that prove Kerry Washington can do it all.
Scandal
This role changed television. Olivia Pope was powerful, broken, brilliant, emotional, sharp, romantic, and ruthless and sometimes all in the same scene.
Washington gave us a Black woman who ran rooms without asking permission and loved deeply without apology.
Her performance made silence as powerful as dialogue and turned restraint into drama.
Ray
As Della Bea Robinson, she showed early that she could hold her own next to giants.
She brought warmth, dignity, and quiet strength to a woman who loved fiercely and stood firm.
She didn’t overplay it and she grounded it. That grounding made the emotional moments hit hard
Django Unchained
This performance was about endurance. Washington played Broomhilda with softness that never felt weak.
The role earned the actress an NAACP Image Award win, receiving Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for the role.
Her quiet suffering carried weight. She made survival feel like resistance, and silence feel like courage.
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Confirmation
This was restraint at its finest. Kerry didn’t dramatize Anita Hill — she honored her.
Every look, every pause, every measured breath carried the weight of being unheard in a loud room. It was a performance built on dignity under pressure.
Little Fires Everywhere
Mia was complicated, protective, selfish, loving, distant, and deeply wounded. Washington leaned into every contradiction.
She let Mia be messy without asking the audience to like her. That bravery made the character unforgettable.
The Six Triple Eight
In this role, she brought leadership, grief, and pride into the same frame. She played Janet with steadiness and emotional depth, showing how strength often lives next to sorrow.
It’s a performance rooted in purpose and one that honors history without flattening the people inside it.
Watch the NAACP Image Awards on BET and CBS on Feb. 28, 2026.
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