Kerry Washington Reveals Childhood Connection to Jennifer Lopez

However, shortly before Jennifer—now 56—left the Bronx for Los Angeles, she showed off her moves for the class, performing a duet with their dance teacher Larry. 

“It was very risqué. We weren’t supposed to watch it. The little girls were like, ‘No, this is not for you,’” the Imperfect Women actress shared. “It was like later on in the dance program, but we all hid in the wings cause we couldn’t not watch it. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. She’s always been a real inspiration for me.”

And that inspiration helped Kerry when she was starting her own career in Hollywood, a topic she touched on while presenting the Maid in Manhattan star with the Equity in Entertainment Award at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment gala in December.

“When Jennifer left the Bronx to move out to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment, she taught me what creative courage looks like,” Kerry said during her speech. “And when she started to appear every Sunday night on our TV screens as a fly girl during In Living Color, she taught me the value of chasing my own unique dreams.”

“When she blew audiences away in Selena and then in movie after movie after movie, she taught me to make room in my heart,” she continued, “and in my imagination for what to anyone else might seem impossible.”

And if the Save the Last Dance actress found herself particularly struggling, she “would remember to think of Jennifer,” adding, “’I would say, ‘Jen does this. She was doing it. And I knew her.’ She was one of us.”

“It might sound like hyperbole, but I am telling you: Without Jennifer Lopez, there is no Kerry Washington,” she said. “But here’s the crazier reality: I am one of millions of people who feel that way.”

For a look at more of Hollywood’s most enduring friendships, keep reading.