Kerry Washington has no more need to hide her baby bump behind strategically placed plants and lamps on the set of her award-winning TV series, Scandal. She can take center stage once again, now that she's given birth to her first daughter, Isabelle Amarachi.
Washington, 36, and hubby, Nnamdi Asomugha, 32, a former cornerback in the NFL, welcomed their first child into the world on April 21, after "the most stylish pregnancy in history," according to People magazine.
The privacy-craving couple married quietly in Idaho in June 2013 and managed to dodge the paparazzi as a couple until they were spotted together at the after-hours party for the Golden Globe awards in January. They've been just as reserved about the birth of their daughter. The news of Isabelle's birth wasn't publicly revealed until May 2, when a TMZ scoop included an online photo of the baby's birth certificate.
Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha was born in Los Angeles at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center, a favorite birthing location for Hollywood moms. The hospital's respect for the privacy of its patients makes it attractive to many celebrity parents and the hospital's birthing suites, said to be quite luxurious, are a tempting draw, too.
Baby Isabelle's middle name — Amarachi — means "God's grace" in Igbo, the language of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. Nnamdi's parents are Igbo, born in Nigeria into one of Africa's largest ethnic groups.
Asomugha himself was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and grew up in the Los Angeles area. He played basketball and football in high school and was part of the California Golden Bears football team for the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in corporate finance.
Asomugha's NFL career started in 2003, when he played for the Oakland Raiders, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the San Francisco 49ers. He officially retired from professional football on December 27, 2013.
Washington was born in the Bronx, New York, where her mother was an educational consultant and professor and her father was a real estate broker. Washington is said to be related to former Secretary of State Colin Powell through her mother's family.
At George Washington University, Washington majored in anthropology and sociology. After graduating in 1998, Washington studied acting at Manhattan's Michael Howard Studios.
Before landing the leading role in TV's Scandal, Washington's career included television commercials, movies, guest appearances on TV shows, in music videos, and on Broadway. In 2013, Forbes magazine listed Washington in the #20 spot on its list of highest-paid TV actors, People magazine listed her as #2 in its list of 100 most beautiful people, and Glamour magazine named her its "Woman of the Year."
Source: Dockterman, Eliana. "Kerry Washington Has a Baby Girl." TIME. Time Inc. May 2, 2014. Web. May 5, 2014.