Celebrity Parents Kerry Washington Corrects Craig Melvin After He Calls Her a Mom of Two: 'I Am a Mother of Three' Kerry Washington and husband Nnamdi Asomugha are parents to son Caleb Kelechi, 2, and daughter Isabelle Amarachi, 4½ By Jen Juneau Jen Juneau Twitter Jen Juneau is a digital news writer for PEOPLE since 2016. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 29, 2018 01:15 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Kerry Washington has some big news — kind of. During a Monday appearance on the Today show to promote her new Broadway play American Son, the 41-year-old actress corrected Craig Melvin when he referred to her as “a mother of two.” “I am a mother of three,” said Washington, who shares son Caleb Kelechi, 2, and daughter Isabelle Amarachi, 4½, with husband Nnamdi Asomugha. While the statement led many fans on Twitter to do a double-take (“Wait, Kerry Washington just said she’s a mother of three on the Today show!” wrote one while another proclaimed, “Mother of THREE … ? When did this happen?!? I need answers!”), the Scandal star is a stepmom to Asomugha’s 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship prior to his marriage to Washington. Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Parents newsletter. Today Craig Melvin and Kerry Washington Today Kerry Washington Mom of Two Kerry Washington Says She Feels Most Empowered When She’s “Making Time” for Herself Washington and Steven Pasquale star in American Son as a couple who go on a search for their missing son. The play touches on issues like race, political views and more — and Washington says bringing her character to life has helped her learn even more in her own parenting journey. “The play is teaching me so much every day. I feel like I’m still learning from [my character],” she told Melvin. “One of the things that I think every mother who sits in the play — every parent, actually, who comes to the play — is faced with the powerlessness of parenting.” Walter McBride/WireImage Kerry Washington RELATED VIDEO: New Mom Kerry Washington Knows She’s Leading a “Blessed” Life “That there was a time where you could control everything, kind of, about them in the very beginning,” Washington explained. “But parenting is a lot about letting go and how you do that with grace and ease and empower your kids to make the right choices.” “It is an adventure,” she continued. “And obviously, doing that as a parent of an African-American kid has particular challenges.” American Son, currently playing in previews, opens Nov. 6 at the Booth Theatre in New York City.