The actress Kerry Washington, who plays White House fixer Olivia Pope on the ABC drama Scandal, welcomed a daughter with husband Nnamdi Asomugha, TMZ reported on Friday, with People confirming the news.
And the ultra-secretive star managed to keep the birth out of the news cycle. Well, for a short time anyway.
Washington gave birth at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles nearly two weeks ago, on April 21, TMZ said.
“Kerry is at home busy with the baby,” a source told People.
And the little girl’s name? Isabelle Amarachi, the site said, noting that dad signed the birth certificate more than a week after Isabelle was born. Too bad they’re not as stealth as B-613.
It’s unclear why Washington chose the name, but the tot’s middle name appears to be a nod to the Asomugha’s Igbo-Nigerian roots. The name translates to ‘Grace of God’ or ‘God’s Grace’, according to various baby-naming websites.
It’s the first child for the Oscar-nominated Django Unchained star, 37, who wed the former NFL cornerback, 32, in Idaho during a top-secret ceremony on June 24, 2013.
The self-proclaimed “luckiest broad in Hollywood” publicly debuted her wedding ring in August at ABC’s Television Critics Association party.
“I’m walking around in the world with my ring,@ she said in a September interview with Glamour. “And when people say congratulations, I say thank you. But I’m going to continue to not talk about it and just let it unfold... I learned through experience that it doesn’t work for me to talk about my personal life.”
The fabulously frocked fashionista’s pregnancy made headlines in October, just before she was slated to host an episode of Saturday Night Live.
And Washington gushed only sparingly about the pregnancy while she did the rounds during awards season. Hey, she was at nearly every show.
“I have the best date of the night — my little accessory,” the Balenciaga-clad Washington said of her belly at the Golden Globes in January.
The actress also bared her midriff for the SAG Awards later that month when she wore a pink Prada crop top and full skirt.
Scandal, which completed its third season last month, not only had to cut its episode count down from 22 to 18 to accommodate its leading lady’s pregnancy, but also had to get creative while hiding the star’s expanding waistline during the show. (No more giant handbags or jarring voyeuristic depth-of-field shots, please.)
