Kerry Washington Explains Why She and Her Husband Keep Their Children Out of the Spotlight

Kerry Washington and her husband, Nnamdi Asomugha, are dedicated to keeping their three children out of the public eye.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE at the American Black Film Festival earlier this month, the 47-year-old actress discussed why she and Nnamdi choose to protect their kids—daughter Isabelle, son Caleb, and a stepdaughter whose name remains private—from the spotlight.

“From the very beginning, Nnamdi and I have been really protective of our partnership and our relationship because we wanted it to belong to us,” Washington shared. “We found that we were able to define and create a relationship for ourselves and with each other outside of the public eye.”

Washington continued, “In many ways, we just want to give our kids that same opportunity to define a life for themselves and to enter the public space in their own way.”

Though they remain cautious, Washington added with a laugh, “They’re not, like, locked in a dungeon. They do come to set, we go places, we do things. We feel like we want to give them agency to engage in public life in the way they want to because this is what we do. We’ve chosen to be athletes and artists, and that’s our choice. But we want to let them be kids.”

Washington and Asomugha, 42, welcomed their first child, Isabelle, on April 21, 2014. Their son, Caleb Kelechi, was born on October 5, 2016. Washington is also a stepmom to Asomugha’s teenage daughter from a previous relationship.

The proud mom has previously discussed her approach to parenting, telling InStyle in 2020 that while she’s “really, really vigilant” about keeping her kids out of the spotlight, she doesn’t want to hide them away completely.

“These are their lives. But it’s not about pulling a Rapunzel and hiding them away in a castle from the world—we don’t want to do that,” she explained. “I think any parent would want to keep kids from a situation that causes them to feel scared. I don’t want them to be exploited, particularly in this social media world.”

During an interview on Sunday Today, Washington also shared her occasional desire to post about her kids. “I have moments where I take pictures or videos of one of my three amazing kids and I wanna post it online, and I tend to just send it to my parents or my shrink instead. I’m like, ‘My kids are so cute and I don’t wanna post about them, so look how cute they are!’”