Kerry Washington wears high-waisted shorts on Elle cover (Photo, Poll)

The 36-year-old actress, who is known for playing the headstrong Olivia Pope in ABC's "Scandal," appears on the cover of Elle for the magazine's June issue. Donning fierce red lipstick, Washington dazzles wearing high-waisted shorts and a cashmere cardigan -- all by Marc Jacobs. The "Fantastic Four" actress opened up to the magazine about her (many) recent successes, saying that she has absolutely nothing to complain about in terms of her career. "I'm the luckiest broad in Hollywood now," she says in the magazine, which hits newsstands on May 21. "To be the lead actor on 'Scandal' and to be in the highest-earning Tarantino movie ["Django Unchained"] - I don't get to ask for more." As a star on the buzzworthy series "Scandal," Washington plays a former White House Communications Director for the president who leaves her post to start her own crisis management firm. She is a professional "fixer" who makes problems go away, but struggles to resolve her own problems -- like her on-and-off-again affair with President Fitzgerald Grant (played by Tony Goldwyn). Washington also appeared alongside Jamie Foxx in Tarantino's recent Oscar-nominated film, "Django Unchained," which earned the actress a great deal of positive attention. While she admits that she loves her on-screen roles, she also loves another aspect of being in the limelight: the fashion. "I found out I enjoy the process (of getting ready)," she says in the magazine. "All these people show up at my house, they all have kits, someone has dresses. And it's like, let's have fun. It's not all about me. We're able to create stories on the red carpet." (Check out PHOTOS of Washington at the 2013 Met Gala on May 6, 2013.) Washington is next set to appear in Tyler Perry's comedy drama, "Peeples," alongside Craig Robinson. While she enjoys making movies and shows, she did talk about the career she always thought she'd pursue ... and it's definitely not acting. "I imagined I'd be a clinical psychologist, with a focus on how performance shapes identity," she says in the interview. "I'd figure out ways to use role-playing in the healing of people." The starlet never thought she'd be a model or actress, gushing: "I was not that girl -- I was a kooky theater kid, silly and goofy and academic." Washington is also known for her powerful role in films including "Ray" and "The Last King of Scotland." Her show, "Scandal," airs on Thursdays at 10/9 CT on ABC.

 News source: www.ontheredcarpet.com

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