Tracee Ellis Ross

Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress.

Ross was born October 29, 1972, in Los Angeles, California, to Motown singer/actress Diana Ross and music business manager Robert Ellis Silberstein.

Her father is Jewish; her mother is African-American and a Baptist.

She adopted the name Tracee Ellis Ross, wishing to retain both of her parents' names after her father dropped the name Silberstein.

She has a younger sister, Chudney Lane Silberstein, and an older half-sister, Rhonda Ross Kendrick.

Actor and musician Evan Ross is her half-brother.

In the 80s, Tracee was photographed along with her mother, Rhonda and Chudney by Andy Warhol.

Her mother used her own photo for the cover of her 1982 album, Silk Electric, for 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.

She remains on close terms with all of them.

She attended Brown University, 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 and New York magazines.

Ross is the recipient of an Honorary degree from Spelman College

Ross has ptosis, slightly affecting her left eyelid.

Following a speech at the American Music Awards, Internet trolls commented on her condition, leading her to post an Instagram 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."

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.

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 titled Sue.

She is known for her lead roles in the television series Girlfriends (2000–2008) and Black-ish (2014–2022) receiving nominations for five Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the latter.

She is the daughter of actress and Motown recording artist Diana Ross and 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.

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, Riverdale Country School in the Bronx and the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland.

She was a model in her teens.

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.

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.

Ross's biggest career achievement came when she landed the lead role in the hit UPN/The CW series Girlfriends, starring as the show's 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.

In 2007, Ross won an NAACP Image Award in the category, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on the series.

In 2007, Ross starred with her brother Evan Ross and Queen Latifah in the HBO movie Life Support.

She won a second Image Award for the role in 2009.

From 2014 to 2022, Ross starred as Dr. Rainbow Johnson in the ABC comedy series, Black-ish.

Her work on it has earned her six 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.

In 2020, she starred in and recorded the soundtrack album for the musical film The High Note.