Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series ''
Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and ''
Black-ish'' (2014–2022).
She is the daughter of actress and
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
recording artist
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...
and
Robert Ellis Silberstein
Robert Ellis Silberstein (also known as Bob Ellis; born January 5, 1946) is an American music executive and businessman. During his career, he managed many musicians, including Billy Preston, Diana Ross, Rufus, the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood, M ...
. She began acting in independent films and variety series. She hosted the pop-culture magazine ''The Dish'' on
Lifetime. From 2000 to 2008 she played the starring role of Joan Clayton in the
UPN/
CW comedy series ''
Girlfriends'', for which she received two
NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. She also has appeared in the films ''
Hanging Up'' (2000), ''
I-See-You.Com'' (2006), and ''
Daddy's Little Girls'' (2007), before returning to television playing Dr. Carla Reed on the
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
sitcom ''
Reed Between the Lines
''Reed Between the Lines'' is an American television family sitcom that premiered on October 11, 2011, on BET. The series was renewed for a second season on April 12, 2012. It was later announced in August 2012 that Tracee Ellis Ross would not ...
'' (2011), for which she received her third NAACP Image Award.
Since 2014, Ross has played the starring role of Dr. Rainbow Johnson in the
ABC comedy series ''
Black-ish''. Her work on it has earned her three NAACP Image Awards and a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. She has also received nominations for two
Critics' Choice Television Awards and five
Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. In 2019, she co-created a prequel spin-off of ''Black-ish'' titled ''
Mixed-ish
''Mixed-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') was an American single-camera sitcom created by Kenya Barris, Peter Saji and Tracee Ellis Ross that premiered on ABC on September 24, 2019. The series is a prequel to ''Black-ish'', and the second series to be ...
''. In 2020, she starred in and recorded the soundtrack album for the musical film ''
The High Note''.
Early life
Ross was born October 29, 1972 in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, the daughter of
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
singer/actress
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...
and music business manager
Robert Ellis Silberstein
Robert Ellis Silberstein (also known as Bob Ellis; born January 5, 1946) is an American music executive and businessman. During his career, he managed many musicians, including Billy Preston, Diana Ross, Rufus, the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood, M ...
. Actor and musician
Evan Ross is her half-brother. Her father is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
; her mother is
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
and a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
. She adopted the name Tracee Ellis Ross, wishing to retain both of her parents' names after her father dropped the name Silberstein. She has two sisters,
Rhonda Ross Kendrick and Chudney Lane Silberstein.
In the 80s, Tracee was photographed along with her mother, Rhonda and Chudney by
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
. Her mother used her own photo for the cover of her 1982 album, ''
Silk Electric'', to which Warhol was given credit.
When her mother married
Arne Næss Jr. in 1985, Tracee gained three step-siblings: Katinka, Christoffer, and folk singer
Leona Naess
Leona Kristina Naess (or Næss) (born 31 July 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut album, '' Comatised'', in March 2000, which produced the single "Charm Attack" ( Adult Top 40 #29).
Biography Early life
Naess was ...
. She remains on close terms with all of them. Before her mother and Naess divorced in 2000, they welcomed her two half-brothers, Ross Arne in 1987 and
Evan Ross in 1988.
Ross attended
The Dalton School in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
Riverdale Country School in
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
and the
Institut Le Rosey
Institut Le Rosey (), commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a private boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. Founded in 1880 by Paul-Émile Carnal on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey in the town of Rolle in the cant ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. She was a model in her teens. She attended
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, where she appeared in plays, and graduated in 1994 with a theatre degree.
[ She later worked in the fashion industry as a model and contributing fashion editor to '']Mirabella
''Mirabella'' was a women's magazine published from June 1989 to April 2000. It was created by and named for Grace Mirabella, a former '' Vogue'' editor in chief, in partnership with Rupert Murdoch.
It was originally published by News Corporati ...
'' and ''New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' magazines.
Ross has ptosis, slightly affecting her left eye-lid. Following a speech at the American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...
, Internet trolls commented on her condition, leading her to post an Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
video saying, "I know y'all make fun of my eyes, you know what I mean? Well, f**ck off, 'cause it's not my fault, alright? My body does what it does, I don't know why. But sometimes when I'm tired, this one just gives up, and it's like, 'Goodnight!'..."Go ahead, make fun of my eyes, OK? But I think they're nice, I think they're so nice, I do."
Career
Early works
Ross made her big-screen debut in 1996, playing a Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
/African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
woman in the independent feature film ''Far Harbor.'' The following year, she debuted as host of ''The Dish
''The Dish'' is a 2000 Australian historical comedy-drama film that tells the story of the Parkes Observatory's role in relaying live television of humanity's first steps on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. It was the top-grossing ...
'', a Lifetime TV magazine series keeping tabs on popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
. In 1998, she starred as a former high school track star who remained silent about having been abused at the hands of a coach, in the NBC made-for-TV movie ''Race Against Fear: A Moment of Truth.'' Her next role was an independent feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
titled '' Sue''. In 2000, she landed her first major studio role in Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton (''née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Glo ...
's '' Hanging Up.'' That same year, she broke into comedy as a regular performer in the MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
series ''The Lyricist Lounge Show
''The Lyricist Lounge Show'' is an American sketch comedy series that aired on MTV from 2000 to 2001 that combined hip-hop music with raps interspersed throughout the sketches. As Wordsworth, BabeePower, and Master Fuol rap on the theme song: " ...
,'' a hip-hop variety series mixing music, dramatic sketches, and comedic skits. In February 2006 she starred in Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
’s " Touch The Sky" MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
music video, playing the role of the best friend of Kanye's ex.
2000–2013: Breakthrough with ''Girlfriends''
Ross's biggest career achievement came when she landed the lead role in the hit UPN/The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
series '' Girlfriends'', starring as the show's protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
Joan Carol Clayton — a successful (and often neurotic) lawyer looking for love, challenges, and adventure. The series centered on four (later three) young African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
women, and their male best friend. In 2007, Ross won an NAACP Image Award
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...
in the category, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on the series. She won a second Image Award for the role in 2009.
In 2007, Ross starred with her brother Evan Ross and Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...
in the HBO movie ''Life Support
Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...
''. That same year, she appeared in the Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmma ...
theatrical movie '' Daddy's Little Girls''. She appeared in the 2009 film '' Labor Pains''.
In 2010, she appeared in an episode of '' Private Practice'' as a pregnant doctor. In 2011, Ross appeared in four episodes of '' CSI'' as the estranged wife of Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...
's character.
Ross starred in the sitcom ''Reed Between the Lines
''Reed Between the Lines'' is an American television family sitcom that premiered on October 11, 2011, on BET. The series was renewed for a second season on April 12, 2012. It was later announced in August 2012 that Tracee Ellis Ross would not ...
'' with Malcolm-Jamal Warner airing on BET starting in October 2011. She won a third NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series in 2012 for her performance in the series. In August 2012, it was announced that Ross would not return for Season Two. In 2011, she appeared in the Lifetime film ''Five
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
'' directed by Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
. The performance in the film earned her nominations for an NAACP Image Award and Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series. In 2012, Ross starred in the NBC drama pilot '' Bad Girls''.
2014–present: ''Black-ish'' and mainstream success
In 2014, Ross was cast in the ABC comedy series '' Black-ish'', opposite Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in drama series such as Marlin Boulet on '' K-Ville'', and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama ...
. She plays the female lead role of Dr. Rainbow Johnson. The series debuted with generally positive reviews from critics. Ross received three NAACP Image Awards and received nominations for two Critics' Choice Television Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
, and two Screen Actors Guild Award
Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
s for her performance in the series. Ross's 2016 nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series was the first for an African-American woman in that category in 30 years. The same year, Ross and Anderson faced off on Spike's ''Lip Sync Battle
''Lip Sync Battle'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on April 2, 2015, on the American cable network Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and Joh ...
''. She emerged victorious with performances of Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents ...
's " Super Bass" and Pat Benatar
Patricia Mae Giraldo ('' née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum al ...
's "Love Is a Battlefield
"Love Is a Battlefield" is a song by American singer Pat Benatar, recorded and released on September 12, 1983, as a single from Benatar's live album '' Live from Earth'' (1983), though the song itself was a studio recording. It was written by H ...
".
In 2015, Ross was awarded an honorary doctorate of fine art (honoris causa
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
) by Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
. Ross hosted the BET Awards in 2015 and 2016, and the American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...
in 2017 and 2018. She also hosted The Fashion Awards in 2019.
As of 2018, as CEO of Pattern Beauty LLC of El Segundo, California
El Segundo ( , ; ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 16,731 as of the ...
, Ross produces a line of "Juicy and Joyful" beauty hair care products made with safe ingredients for curls and promotes support organizations to empower women and people of color. Ross appeared in the fourth episode of '' A Little Late with Lilly Singh''.
In 2019, Ross created, alongside Kenya Barris
Kenya Barris (born August 9, 1973) is an American film and television writer, producer, director, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the ABC sitcom ''black-ish'' (2014–2022).
Early life
Barris was born in Inglewood, California, t ...
, a prequel spin-off of ''Black-ish'' called ''Mixed-ish
''Mixed-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') was an American single-camera sitcom created by Kenya Barris, Peter Saji and Tracee Ellis Ross that premiered on ABC on September 24, 2019. The series is a prequel to ''Black-ish'', and the second series to be ...
''. Ross serves as a narrator for the series starring Tika Sumpter
Euphemia LatiQue Sumpter, better known as Tika Sumpter, is an American actress, singer, producer, television host, and model. Sumpter began her career as the host of '' Best Friend's Date''. From 2005 to 2010, she appeared in the daytime soap ope ...
and Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Ross will star in and executive produce the adult animated comedy ''Jodie'', the first in a series of spin-offs based on MTV's '' Daria'' franchise. Ross will voice the title character, Jodie Landon.
In 2020, Ross played the leading role as Grace Davis, the legendary superstar singer, in the musical comedy-drama film '' The High Note'' for Focus Features
Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in the U ...
. ''The High Note'' marks the first big-screen role for Ross since the 2007 comedy-drama ''Daddy’s Little Girls''. The film was scheduled to be theatrically released on May 8, 2020, but the theatrical release was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The film later moved its release date to May 29, 2020, through video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
. In ''The High Note'' Ross made her singing debut, recording a soundtrack album titled ''The High Note (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)''. The lead single, pop-ballad " Love Myself" was released on May 15, 2020, through Republic Records
Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...
.
Ross emceed the second night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention. More recently, she signed a deal with ABC Signature. In 2021, she was included on the ''Time'' 100, ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
''s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
She appeared as Lainie in the seventh episode of the revived ''The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, ...
'', released in May 2022. Later in 2022, she starred in the upcoming psychological thriller film, ''Cold Copy''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Discography
*''The High Note (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2020)
:*" Love Myself" (single)
:*"Stop For A Minute"
:*"Bad Girl"
:*"New To Me"
:*"Like I Do" - with Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. (born July 23, 1994) is an American actor. He is the recipient of such accolades as a Screen Actors Guild Award and nominations for a British Academy Film Award, Gotham Award, an Independent Spirit Award.
He began his caree ...
:*Love Myself (Film Version) - with Amie Doherty
Awards and nominations
Business
Tracee Ellis Ross is also the founder o
Pattern Beauty
a company which makes natural hair care products for curly and textured hair. The company was founded in 2018.
See also
* African-American Jews
African-American Jews are people who are both African American and Jewish. African-American Jews may be either Jewish from birth or converts to Judaism. Many African-American Jews are of mixed heritage, having both African-American gentile and ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Tracee Ellis
Actresses from Los Angeles
African-American actresses
American film actresses
American television actresses
Brown University alumni
Living people
Alumni of Institut Le Rosey
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Dalton School alumni
Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners
African-American Jews
Riverdale Country School alumni
Silberstein family
California Democrats
20th-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
21st-century African-American people
1972 births