Officials from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce presented the actress with the star in recognition of her work on TV shows such as Scandal, Confirmation, and Little Fires Everywhere.
Addressing the crowd, Kerry explained that the accolade marked a full circle moment for her family, who had immigrated from Jamaica.
“Once upon a time, years later, decades later, (my) uncle Cliff all grown up, came to Los Angeles on a vacation with his wife Vicky, and he found a star somewhere on the Walk of Fame with his last name on it,” she recalled, noting that her mother Valerie’s maiden name was Moss. “Maybe it was Jerry Moss or Elisabeth Moss. We don’t really know exactly who it was because he used his body and the angle of the camera to cover the first name or the real recipient. And all you could see was his proud smile and ‘Moss’ with a star all around it.”
In that moment, Kerry declared her uncle Cliff “was a star” and went on to explain how she hopes her own plaque will prove to be of inspiration to aspiring artists.
“He made it all the way from Simpson Street (New York City) to Hollywood because just like his parents, he dared to dream. My mom and dad also taught me to dream,” the 47-year-old continued. “Here we are, mom, dad, can you believe it? An actual star. You made a wish and it came true. 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. It’s fun for me to imagine some kid with the last name Washington, or maybe the first name, Kerry, using their pose in a selfie to cover up half of my name to make room for their legacy.”
Earlier in the ceremony, guest speaker Tyler Perry also recounted a funny story about the time he was once on vacation with Kerry’s family and noticed that her daughter Isabelle, now 10, walked just like her Scandal character Olivia Pope.
“I’m looking at her, and I’m like, I said, ‘Kerry, she’s walking like Olivia Pope,'” he remembered. “She’s got the whole walk down all the way to the room. She embodies it. She embodies it, and I think that she passed it on to the baby!”
Kerry also shares son Caleb, eight, with her husband Nnamdi Asomugha.
To conclude his speech, Tyler praised the Unprisoned star for her contribution to the entertainment industry.
“With that said, as I think about the life that she’s lived as an activist, as a woman, as a person, as a person of colour, the character that she is exhibited for everyone to see, I’m so incredibly proud of her,” the media mogul smiled.
