America Ferrera Says Kerry Washington’s Help During Her Postpartum Return to Work 'Saved Me’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

America Ferrera and Kerry Washington.Photo:Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty; Amanda Edwards/Getty

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty; Amanda Edwards/Getty

America Ferrerasays she gets inspiration from the mothers around her “all the time.”

And it was one particular famous friend’s advice that became a life raft when she first grappled with a postpartum return to work.

“When I first had my first child, my son, I went back to shoot onSuperstorewhen he was 10 weeks old,” says theBarbiestar, 39, who shares sonSebastian Piers, 5, and daughterLucia Marisol, 3, with her husband, actor and directorRyan Piers Williams.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

America Ferrera in ‘Barbie’.Warner Bros

Warner Bros

It was Washington’s refreshing candor that helped give Ferrera the blueprint to return to work with confidence. Washington’s shortlist included “her pumping and breastfeeding schedule on set and exactly what bra she bought to get for wardrobe. And it was like she just saved me,” adds Ferrera.

To film her role inBarbieas a low-level Mattel employee named Gloria who ultimately inspires Barbie (Margot Robbie) to throw off the newfound patriarchy taking over Barbie Land, Ferrera and her family relocated from New York to London. Her children, she says, “were young enough where I could do that, but still life happened,” she says. “People get sick, your childcare falls through, and then your spouse has to step in and take the brunt of it.”

It’s all added “dimensions of complication” as she seeks her own formula of work-life balance, she acknowledges. “I feel like every old experience is now a new experience as a mother.”

America Ferrera and Ryan Piers Williams.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Barbieultimately became2023’s highest-grossing filmand alsoWarner Bros.' biggest movie ever. As awards season revs up, Ferrera’s standout performance, and her character’s searing monologue on the “impossible” task of being a woman today, could land her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress, 22 years after her first breakout hit,Real Women Have Curves, hit theaters.

Championing Ferrera throughout has been Williams, who theUgly Bettyactressmet in college when they were both film studentsat the University of Southern California and married in 2011.

“He is incredibly present and hands-on as a father, but he also just really cares about my dreams,” says the star. “He really wants me to be what I want to be in the world. And so he thinks of my dreams as his own. I think of his dreams as my responsibility, too.”

For more on America Ferrera, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, out now.

source: people.com