When actress Kerry Washington needs a shoulder to lean on or an ear to vent to, she turns to none other than Nnamdi Asomugha, her husband of more than a decade. Despite starring in one of the most successful, long-running political dramas in the 2010s, Scandal , Washington has stayed relatively under the radar and out of sight from the paparazzi. But Asomugha, a former athlete, is increasingly grabbing attention himself for his cinematic ventures; he wrote and directed The Knife , which showed at the Tribeca film festival this summer and received favourable reviews.
Washington, 47, chooses to keep her relationships out of the spotlight for the most part. While she posts almost exclusively about work on her Instagram account, Asomugha, 43, stays off social media altogether, although his eponymous foundation does have an account. Asomugha, who reportedly has a net worth of US$30 million, per Celebrity Net Worth, is a former American football player and sometimes walks red carpets alongside his wife.
He is also carving a path for himself in Hollywood post-NFL. Here’s what else we know about him. How Nnamdi Asomugha went from the NFL to Hollywood {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Nnamdi Asomugha was formerly an NFL athlete. Photo: @n_asomugha/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/21/50f45c11-40fd-47ca-9a00-f73241ba2ca0_eacb2dd4.jpg"} Nnamdi Asomugha was formerly an NFL athlete. Photo: @n_asomugha/Instagram Asomugha entered the NFL in 2003, joining the Oakland Raiders after playing for the UC Berkeley’s California Golden Bears in college.
The cornerback went on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers , and retired after 11 seasons in the league. He began exploring a career in Hollywood on the side, debuting on the sitcom The Game in 2008 while playing for the Oakland Raiders. In the following years, he appeared in shows including Friday Night Lights and Leverage .
In 2012, he made his film debut in Fire with Fire , where he starred alongside actors Bruce Willis and Josh Duhamel. He also wrote and starred in a short film, Double Negative , and trained his comedic chops in Will Ferrell -produced series Funny or Die . {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Nnamdi Asomugha at his Tribeca Film Festival premiere of his directorial debut, The Knife. Photo: @justjared/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/21/1922bae3-64c0-4c9f-89db-bf7c820daae0_7390c88c.jpg"} Nnamdi Asomugha at his Tribeca Film Festival premiere of his directorial debut, The Knife. Photo: @justjared/Instagram After retiring from the NFL, Asomugha pursued further opportunities in Hollywood.
He starred in and produced the biographical film Crown Heights (2017), about a wrongfully convicted murderer, Colin Warner; Asomugha played his best friend, Carl King, who fought to prove his innocence. He earned several accolades for this breakout role, including best supporting actor nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards and NAACP Image Awards. How did Kerry Washington meet her husband, Nnamdi Asomugha? {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha with Michelle and Barack Obama. Photo: @kerrywashington/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/21/f83ba3dc-7c0c-46fd-8a46-aa709efa9152_15d3cbb7.jpg"} Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha with Michelle and Barack Obama. Photo: @kerrywashington/Instagram The star’s pursuit of acting not only led him to a career in the entertainment industry – but to the love of his life.
He and Washington reportedly met in 2009 at Washington’s Broadway debut Race, per Elle. Following a four-year courtship, the pair married in 2013 and share two children, Isabelle and Caleb. Asomugha also has another daughter from a previous relationship.
His philanthropic efforts {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Nnamdi Asomugha is the founder of the Asomugha Foundation. Photo: @asomughafndn/Instagram","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/21/f422627a-6a79-4218-8c8c-7119ba389e8c_5e5f8e4d.jpg"} Nnamdi Asomugha is the founder of the Asomugha Foundation.
Photo: @asomughafndn/Instagram In 2010, Asomugha leveraged his fame in the NFL and founded the Asomugha Foundation, to help underprivileged orphans and widows in Africa through education and empowerment. The Asomugha Foundation has opened a non-profit elementary school, New Hope Academy, to serve four villages in Ubakala, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria that were affected by the pandemic, per the foundation’s website. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Kerry Washington’s husband, Nnamdi Asomugha, is also a philanthropist. Photo: @asomughafndn/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/21/bdfbd800-82e6-413e-8a89-72c57eed6d96_77e70e99.jpg"} Kerry Washington’s husband, Nnamdi Asomugha, is also a philanthropist. Photo: @asomughafndn/Instagram Another initiative invites young students of colour to tour college campuses around the country, helping them explore their options.
The Scandal star’s hubby played for the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers – but pivoted to Hollywood and recently wrote and directed The Knife (2024) The couple famously keep their lives private, though it’s known that they met when the actress performed in the Broadway play Race in 2009; they have 2 children together, Isabelle and Caleb.
