Despite being universally recognized as glamorous, actress and style icon Kerry Washington didn't always feel that way. Washington recently sat down for a wide-ranging interview with "Girls" creator and writer Lena Dunham, and you might be surprised by what the "Scandal" star revealed.
"I didn't grow up thinking I was pretty; there was always a prettier girl than me," Washington told Dunham for a forthcoming cover story for Marie Claire magazine.
"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," Washington added.
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For Dunham, who recently hit the road with Planned Parenthood to promote her book "Not that Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's 'Learned,'" Washington "redefined identity and visibility for so many women." The same can be said about Dunham, who despite being ridiculed for showing off her atypical Hollywood curves, has also grown to be a role model for young women struggling with impossibly high beauty standards.
"My fears came true: people called me fat and hideous, and I lived," Dunham told The Guardian last year. "And now I keep living."
Dunham also asked Washington questions about the actress's daughter Isabelle, privacy, working with "Scandal" creator Shonda Rhimes, and the duality of playing "Olivia Pope."
"I don't think I consciously say, 'What would Olivia Pope do?,'" Washington said. "But there's a new thread of belief in my own capacity that I think comes from her. She makes it happen. She figures it out. She fixes it."
The full interview will be published in the April issue of Marie Claire just before Dunham guest stars in an episode of "Scandal."