Kerry Washington shares shocking family secret in new book

Kerry Washington had received a rude shock when it was dawned upon her that Earl Washington is only her father in name but not biological.

Revealing the startling information in the new book Thicker Than Water, the Scandal star penned that she was set to appear in the PBS show Finding Your Roots in 2018, which forced her parents to tell the long-held secret about her parentage.

Hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., the series is famed for informing the public influencers about their forefathers via DNA testing.

In a chat with People, the 46-year-old shared her original reaction to the explosive revelation, "It really turned my world upside down."

"When I got this information, I was like, 'Oh. I now know my story,'" she continued. "I didn't know what my story was, but I was playing the supporting character in their story."

Explaining their action, Kerry's parents revealed that constant fertility issues compelled them to seek an unknown sperm donor to conceive.

Notwithstanding the initial shock, the Django Unchained actor is content with the revelation, saying, "really kind of me working to understand my life up until now, given this new information that I have that, in many ways, felt like sort of the missing puzzle piece."

Meanwhile, Kerry's memoir will be out on Sept. 26.