Kerry Washington says 'Scandal' has helped her to see that she could be a good mother.

The 39-year-old actress has daughter Isabelle, 22 months, with husband Nnamdi Asomugha and made the surprising admission that playing childless character Olivia Pope on the TV show has made her a better parent.

She explained to Elle magazine: ''Even though Olivia Pope has obviously made the decision that she is not a mom...playing her made me feel like I could be a mom. Because she knows there's always another way - there's always a way to fix it, there's always a way to solve it, to win.

And I feel like playing her made me feel like, 'All right, I can do it. I will figure out how to juggle it all.''' Kerry also revealed that her boss Shonda Rhimes, who created the show, has also been an inspiration to her.

She said: ''She's been such an amazing resource, as a mom, and as a working mom...I am on one show and I have one kid, and she has three shows and three kids.''