Though Kerry Washington insists she is less Washington-savvy than her TV show character Olivia Pope, the alumna disclosed this week that she has a dose of politico in her blood.

Washington described her political — and “socially conscious” upbringing — in a cover interview with Vanity Fair, which featured her glamorous and edgy style in a multipage spread.

She said her parents celebrated the first election she could vote in “the way some people celebrate a Sweet 16.” They also took her to see former South African president Nelson Mandela speak at Yankee Stadium when she was 13 years old.

Nowadays, she speaks at massive events like the Democratic National Convention and volunteers alongside Michelle Obama.

She also said she improved her acting abilities by performing skits with a local sex-ed group.

“It taught me the importance of really understanding everything about who you’re playing, because you never knew what question was going to come,” Washington told Vanity Fair.

Washington, who spoke at this year’s Commencement ceremony, stars in ABC’s hit show Scandal about a crisis management firm in D.C. She also played a key character in Quentin Tarantino’s slave-era film Django Unchained, which she has described as “more than a role” for its historical meaning to her.

Washington also recently graced the June cover of Elle magazine. In her interview with Elle, she said she never dreamed of becoming a model or a film actress when she was younger because she was a “kooky theater kid, silly and goofy and academic.”