Kerry Washington: 'Scandal creator inspires me to be a no-nonsense mum'

Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes inspires her leading lady Kerry Washington to be the best mom, because she's juggling work and three kids.

Kerry became a mom-of-two earlier this year (17) and admits watching her friend and mentor take care of business at work and at home stops her from complaining about life.

"Shonda's got I-don't-know-how-many shows now, plus three kids, and she just figures it out," the actress tells the June issue of Net-A-Porter magazine. "However busy I feel, Shonda feels busier, so I'm just going to rise to the occasion. She's been a real role model. Seeing the community she's created and the work ethic, I feel like there should be more of this in the world."

The two mothers' TV drama has become a phenomenon in recent years, and amid reports the show will end after its seventh season in 2018, Kerry admits her character Olivia Pope has become a sounding board in the current political climate, following Donald Trump's election as President.

The actress, who plays a political fixer on the show, reveals she has been inundated by fans' tweets asking for her character's expertise.

"Millions of people were like, 'We need Olivia Pope to fix this'. On one hand, I was incredibly honored - 'Oh, look, we’re part of the zeitgeist' - but I was also a bit infuriated. I was like, ‘No, this is your country. You’re the Olivia Pope of your own life; this is your democracy. I can’t fix this'."

Meanwhile, there's about to be another mom on the set of Scandal - Kerry's co-star Katie Lowes is pregnant with her first child. The 35-year-old actress announced the baby news during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday night (11May17), revealing she and her husband Adam Shapiro are expecting a boy.

Katie, who plays Quinn Perkins on the TV show, explained Rhimes already knew she was pregnant when she told her the exciting news.

"I told her five minutes from being pregnant, she already knew, she’s a genius," Katie said of Shonda. "She knows the minute I got pregnant."