Kerry Washington honors parents at Walk of Fame ceremony: 'You made a wish and it came true'

Kerry Washington has long been a certified star — but now she has the placard to prove it.

The "Scandal" actress, 47, received a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday, celebrating the honor alongside her parents.

"Mom, Dad, can you believe it? An actual star," she said in her speech, "You made a wish and it came true and now I am swirling in a galaxy of other stars, all encouraging each other to shine brightly and to light the way for somebody else's dreams."

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Washington, who has been in the business since her 20s, has a career that spans stage and screen. Emmy-nominated for her roles in both "Scandal" and the HBO film "Confirmation," the actress' latest accolade comes as no surprise.

"She does it all with this determination and this grace and she's joyful about it," Shonda Rhimes, the creator of "Scandal," said at the ceremony. "She is a star. She's a bright star who lights up our world ... Kerry doesn't just shine for herself, she shares her light with anyone who needs it."

"It was kind of a bucket list achievement for my dad," Washington told People after she was inducted. "I think it was something my dad had always dreamed of and asked me about, and so it was really special to be able to be here today to share this moment with my parents and to have them be here with me."

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Ahead of the release of her memoir "Thicker than Water" in 2023, Washington revealed she discovered late in life that her dad, Earl Washington, was not her biological father.

She discovered the truth when she told her parents she planned to go on PBS' "Finding Your Roots," a series hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., where stars learn more about their ancestry through DNA testing.

"When I got this information, I was like, 'Oh. I now know my story,'" Washington told People at the time. "I didn't know what my story was, but I was playing the supporting character in their story."

Washington's star is the 2,796th to be added to the ever-growing walkway that snakes down Hollywood Boulevard. One of the last pieces of old Hollywood that has held onto its salience, the pink and gold plaques are doled out in ceremonies that bring together big names from a star's past.

Present at Washington's induction were not just her family and Rhimes, but Tyler Perry, another longtime collaborator, including "For Colored Girls."

"She is incredibly kind and giving and powerful, and her heart speaks first," Perry said.

"She approaches it with heart. She approaches it understanding that she's not just acting but she's representing the people that she is portraying," the "Madea" creator said of Washington's acting. "I'm so incredibly proud of her."

Washington later dedicated her newly minted star to other young performers dreaming big as she did. The actress said in her speech she hoped one day someone sharing her last name would come to Hollywood Boulevard, see the Kerry Washington star and cover up "Kerry" to imagine their own name filled in.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kerry Washington gets Hollywood Walk of Fame star, Tyler Perry speaks