Kerry Washington will receive the Spotlight Tribute at the 2026 Gotham TV Awards.
The honor recognizes her Emmy-winning career as an actress and producer, including her starring role on Apple TV’s Imperfect Women.
Washington’s credits include her Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award-nominated role in ABC’s Scandal, which made her the first Black woman since 1974 to lead a network TV drama. Her work over the seven seasons of that Peabody-winning show earned her multiple NAACP Image Awards.
She also landed Emmy and SAG Award nominations for her role in Little Fires Everywhere, which she produced through her Simpson Street production company, founded in 2016.
Other Simpson Street projects include the Emmy-winning Live in Front of a Studio Audience, the documentary The Fight, Reasonable Doubt, Unprisoned and The Street You Grew Up On.
Washington will next appear in Ben Affleck’s Animals. Her other film credits include Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Shadow Force, The Prom, Cars 3, Django Unchained, Ray, The Last King of Scotland, Save the Last Dance and Fantastic Four.
“Kerry Washington has created a singular connection with audiences and colleagues throughout her career. From Olivia Pope in Scandal to Eleanor in Imperfect Women, she brings fierce intelligence, emotional depth, and grace to every performance. At the same time, through her work as a producer and the visionary leadership of her company, Simpson Street, Kerry has championed bold, socially resonant storytelling across television, film, audio, and theater, expanding opportunities for new voices and stories,” Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute, said in a statement. “The Gotham is honored to recognize Kerry with the Spotlight Tribute in celebration of an artist whose work, both in front of and behind the camera, continues to leave a profound mark on the industry and the culture.”
Previously announced Gotham TV Awards tribute honorees include Michelle Pfeiffer (the Legend Tribute), Claire Danes (the Performer Tribute), Matt and Ross Duffer (the Visionary Tribute). The Awards are set to take place on Monday June 1 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York.
