Tracee Ellis Ross

Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress, singer and television host. She is known for her lead roles in the television series Girlfriends (2000–2008) and Black-ish (2014–present).[1] Ross owns Pattern Beauty, a hair-care line for curly hair.[2]

Not to be confused with Tracey Ellis or Tracey Ross.

Tracee Ellis Ross
Ross in 2018
Born	Tracee Joy Silberstein (1972-10-29) October 29, 1972 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Brown University
Occupation	Actress, singer, television host
Years active	1996–present
Parent(s)	Robert Ellis Silberstein Diana Ross
Relatives	Rhonda Ross Kendrick and Evan Ross
Website	traceeellisross.com

Ross is the daughter of actress and Motown recording artist Diana Ross and her ex-husband Robert Ellis Silberstein. 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 sitcom Reed Between the Lines (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 the series 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 four 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. In 2020, Ross starred and recorded the soundtrack album for the musical film, The High Note.

Early life

Born Tracee Joy Silberstein in Los Angeles, California, she is the daughter of Motown singer/actress Diana Ross and music business manager Robert Ellis Silberstein. Actor and musician Evan Ross is her half-brother.[3] Her father is Jewish.[4][5][6] Her mother is African-American and a Baptist.[7][8] She adopted the name Tracee Ellis Ross, wishing to retain both of her parents' names after her father dropped the name Silberstein.[9] She has two sisters: Rhonda Ross Kendrick and Chudney Lane Silberstein.

When her mother married Arne Næss Jr. in 1985, Tracee gained three step-siblings: Katinka, Christoffer, and folk singer Leona Naess; she remains on close terms with all of them. Before her mother and Naess divorced in 1999, they welcomed her two half-brothers, Ross Arne in 1987 and Evan Olav in 1988. After the divorce Naess married Camilla Astrup.

Ross attended The Dalton School in Manhattan, Riverdale Country School in the Bronx and the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. She was a model in her teens. She attended Brown University, where she appeared in plays, and graduated in 1994 with a theatre degree.[10] She later worked in the fashion industry, as a model and contributing fashion editor to Mirabella and New York magazines.[11]

Career

Early works

Ross made her big-screen debut in 1996, playing a Jewish/African-American woman in the independent feature film Far Harbor. The following year, she debuted as host of The Dish, a Lifetime TV magazine series keeping tabs on popular culture.[10] 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.[12] Her next role was an independent feature film titled Sue. In 2000, she landed her first major studio role in Diane Keaton's Hanging Up. That same year, she broke into comedy as a regular performer in the MTV series The Lyricist Lounge Show, a hip-hop variety series mixing music, dramatic sketches, and comedic skits.[13] In February 2006 she starred in Kanye West’s "Touch The Sky" MTV music video, playing the role of the best friend of Kanye's ex.

2000–2013: Breakthrough with Girlfriends

Ross with Mara Brock Akil and Girlfriends cast in 2013

Ross's biggest career achievement came when she landed the lead role in the hit UPN/CW series Girlfriends, starring as the show's main protagonist 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 women, and their male best friend.[14] In 2007, Ross won an NAACP Image Award 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.[15]

In 2007, Ross starred with her brother Evan Ross and Queen Latifah in the HBO movie Life Support.[16] That same year, she appeared in the Tyler Perry theatrical movie Daddy's Little Girls.[17] She appeared in the 2009 film Labor Pains.[18]

In 2010, she appeared in an episode of Private Practice as a pregnant doctor.[19] In 2011, Ross appeared in four episodes of CSI as the estranged wife of Laurence Fishburne's character.[20][21]

Ross starred in the sitcom Reed Between the Lines 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.[22] In 2011, she appeared in the Lifetime film Five directed by Alicia Keys.[23] 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.[24]

2014–present: Black-ish and mainstream success

Ross at the 2014 NAACP Image Awards

In 2014, Ross was cast in the ABC comedy series Black-ish, opposite Anthony Anderson.[25][26] She plays the female lead role of Dr. Rainbow Johnson. The series debuted with generally positive reviews from critics.[27] Ross received three NAACP Image Awards and received nominations for two Critics' Choice Television Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performance in the series.[28] 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.[29] The same year, Ross and Anderson faced off on Spike's Lip Sync Battle. She emerged victorious with performances of Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" and Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield".

In 2015, Ross was awarded an honorary doctorate of fine art (honoris causa) by Brown University.[30] Ross hosted the BET Awards in 2015 and 2016, and the American Music Awards in 2017, 2018 and 2019.[31] She also hosted The Fashion Awards in 2019.[32]

As of 2018, as CEO of Pattern Beauty LLC of El Segundo, California, 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, an NBCUniversal daily late-night TV talk show format series discussing popular culture.[33][34]

In 2019, Ross created, alongside Kenya Barris, a prequel spin-off of Black-ish called Mixed-ish. Ross serves as a narrator for the series starring Tika Sumpter and Mark-Paul Gosselaar.[35][36] 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.[37]

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.[38] 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.[39] The film later moved its release date to May 29, 2020, through video on demand.[40] 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.[41][42]

Ross will emcee the second night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.[43]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Far Harbor	Kiki
1997	Sue Lost in Manhattan	Linda
1999	A Fare To Remember	Jane
2000	Hanging Up	Kim
2000	In the Weeds	Caroline
2006	I-See-You.Com	Nancy Tanaka
2007	Daddy's Little Girls	Cynthia
2009	Labor Pains	Kristin
2019	Little	Homegirl	Voice[44]
2020	The High Note	Grace Davis

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Broken Silence	Kaycee King	Television film
2000	The Lyricist Lounge Show	Various roles	1 episode
2000–2008	Girlfriends	Joan Clayton	Series regular, 172 episodes
2004	Second Time Around	Naomi	Episode: "A Kiss Is Still a Kiss"
2007	Life Support	Tanya	Television film
2010	Private Practice	Ellen	Episode: "War"
2011	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Gloria Parkes	Recurring role, 4 episodes
2011	Reed Between the Lines	Dr. Carla Reed	Series regular, 25 episodes
2011	Five	Alyssa	Television film; segment "Lili"
2012	Bad Girls	Rachel	Unsold pilot
2014–present	Black-ish	Dr. Rainbow "Bow" Johnson	Lead role, director of 2 episodes and producer
2016	Broad City	Winona	Episode: "Jews on a Plane"
2018	Grown-ish	Dr. Rainbow "Bow" Johnson	Episode: "Cashin' Out"
2018	Portlandia	Professional In Getting Her Picture Taken	Episode: "You Do You"
2019–present	Mixed-ish	Dr. Rainbow "Bow" Johnson/Narrator	Also co-creator, executive producer

Music videos

Year	Song	Artist	Role
2004	“The New Workout Plan”	Kanye West	Fifi LeBeouff/ Herself[45]
2005	"Touch the Sky"	Kanye West	Herself[45]
2018	"Nice for What"	Drake	Herself[46]
2019	"Earfquake"	Tyler, the Creator	Pearl Edwards (Talk Show Host)[47]

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.
• Love Myself (Film Version) - with Amie Doherty

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2002	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series	Girlfriends	Nominated
2003	Prism Award	Best Performance in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2003	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2004	BET Comedy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2005	BET Comedy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series		Won
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2006	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2007	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series		Won
2008	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2009	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series		Won
2012	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Five	Nominated
		Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series	Reed Between the Lines	Won
	Black Reel Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series	Five	Nominated
	NAMIC Vision Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series	Reed Between the Lines	Nominated
2015	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series	Black-ish	Won
	BET Awards	Best Actress		Nominated
	EWwy Awards	Best Actress, Comedy[48]		Nominated
2016	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actress in a Comedy Series[49]		Nominated
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series[50]		Won
	Online Film & Television Association Award	Best Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series[51]		Nominated
	Satellite Award	Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy[52]		Nominated
	BET Awards	Best Actress		Nominated
2017	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy		Won
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series[53]		Won
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series[54]		Nominated
2018	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series		Won
	Primetime Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2020	Primetime Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series		Pending

See also

• African-American Jews

References

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2. Forbes, Jihan. "We Asked Women With Four Curl Types to Try Tracee Ellis Ross's New Hair-Care Brand". Allure.
3. Whitall, Susan (February 26, 2011). "Diana Ross opens up on 'Oprah' show". The Detroit News. Retrieved December 4, 2019 – via PressReader.
4. "Diana Ross's Daughter Tracee Ellis Ross: Her Time to Shine". PEOPLE. December 15, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
5. Windeler, Robert (January 26, 1976). "Mr. & Mrs. Diana Ross?". PEOPLE. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
6. Miller, Gerri (January 20, 2015). "Tracee Ellis Ross: Black-ish and Jewish". InterfaithFamily.com. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
7. Guthrie, Marisa (October 11, 2011). "Tracee Ellis Ross and Malcolm-Jamal Warner Talk 'Reed Between the Lines'". The Hollywood Reporter.
8. "Joanne Weintraub".
9. Hirschberg, Lynn. "Tracee Ellis Ross Has Definitive Proof That Diana Ross Is the Greatest Mom of All Time". W Magazine. Condé Nast. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
10. "Tracee Ellis Ross Biography". Tvguide.com. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
11. Christian, Margena A. (April 17, 2006). "Tracee Ellis Ross: 'Girlfriends' TV star takes center stage her way". Jet. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
12. Associated Press (September 8, 1998). "Ross' daughter still auditions". Rochester Sentinel. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
13. "UPN'S GIRLFRIENDS TRIES TO SURVIVE". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. February 25, 2001.
14. "CW's 'Girlfriends' to End After 8 Years". FOXNews.com. February 14, 2008. Archived from the original on February 19, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
15. Hite, N'Neka (February 12, 2009). "'Bees' big at NAACP Image Awards". Variety. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
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27. "Black-ish : Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
28. Variety Staff (December 9, 2014). "'Get On Up,' 'Selma,' 'Dear White People' Score NAACP Image Award Nominations (Full List)". Variety. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
29. Hairston, Tahirah (September 19, 2016). "Rami Malek Is the Emmys' First Non-White Best Actor in a Drama in 18 Years". Retrieved September 19, 2016.
30. "Brown awards six honorary doctorates: Tracee Ellis Ross, Doctor of Fine Arts", Brown University, May 23, 2015.
31. Courtney, Ian (March 27, 2019). "Dates Set For 2019 American Music Awards". Retrieved April 17, 2020.
32. Conti, Samantha (October 31, 2019). "Tracee Ellis Ross to Headline 2019 Fashion Awards in London". WWD. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
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34. "Our Story - Pattern Beauty". Pattern Beauty LLC. September 8, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
35. Darrisaw, Michelle (May 15, 2019). "Tracee Ellis Ross Will Star in Her Own Black-ish Spin-Off Called Mixed-ish". Oprah Magazine.
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41. Spanos, Brittany; Spanos, Brittany (May 15, 2020). "Tracee Ellis Ross Debuts 'Love Myself' From Film 'The High Note'".
42. "Tracee Ellis Ross releases her first song from 'The High Note' soundtrack". Entertainment Weekly.
43. Mucha, Sarah (August 17, 2020). "Eva Longoria, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kerry Washington and Julia Louis-Dreyfus announced as Democratic convention emcees". CNN.
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External links

• Official Website
• Tracee Ellis Ross on IMDb