Tracee Ellis Ross

Ross has spoken publicly about embracing a life without marriage or children and has described herself as childfree. She has also discussed the importance of self-acceptance and resisting cultural expectations of perfection.

She endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Born Tracee Joy Silberstein, Ross is the daughter of Motown singer and actress Diana Ross and music business manager Robert Ellis Silberstein. She has an older half-sister, Rhonda Ross Kendrick, a younger sister, Chudney Lane Silberstein, and a half-brother, actor and musician Evan Ross.

Ross attended The Dalton School, Riverdale Country School and Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. She studied theatre at Brown University, where she appeared in plays, and graduated in 1994. She later received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Brown University.

Before establishing herself as an actress, Ross worked as a model and as a contributing fashion editor for Mirabella and New York magazines. She also appeared on magazine covers and was photographed by Herb Ritts and Francesco Scavullo.

Ross made her film debut in the independent feature Far Harbor in 1996 and hosted the Lifetime pop-culture magazine series The Dish the following year. Her early screen work also included Sue, A Fare to Remember, Hanging Up and In the Weeds.

Her breakthrough came in 2000 when she was cast as Joan Clayton, the central character in the UPN and CW comedy series Girlfriends. Joan is a successful lawyer navigating friendship, relationships and professional challenges. Ross remained with the series from 2000 to 2008, appearing in 172 episodes.

Her performance earned two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, in 2007 and 2009, as well as a BET Comedy Award in 2005. During the show's run, she also appeared with Evan Ross and Queen Latifah in the HBO film Life Support and starred in Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls.

After Girlfriends, Ross appeared in series and television films including Private Practice, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Five and Reed Between the Lines. She played Dr. Carla Reed opposite Malcolm-Jamal Warner in Reed Between the Lines and won an NAACP Image Award for the role in 2012.

In 2014, Ross began starring in the ABC comedy series Black-ish as Dr. Rainbow Johnson, a physician and mother in an upper-middle-class African American family. She played the role opposite Anthony Anderson, who portrayed her husband, Dre Johnson, while Laurence Fishburne played her father-in-law. Her performance earned multiple NAACP Image Awards, five Primetime Emmy nominations and the 2017 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy.

Ross became the first Black woman in more than 30 years to win the Golden Globe in that category. She co-created the Black-ish prequel series Mixed-ish with Kenya Barris, narrated the show and played Rainbow Johnson. She also directed episodes of Girlfriends and Black-ish.

Her later screen work includes the films The High Note, Cold Copy, American Fiction and Candy Cane Lane. In The High Note, she played singer Grace Davis and recorded the film's soundtrack album, including the single "Love Myself."

Ross founded Pattern Beauty in 2018 and serves as its chief executive. The company makes hair-care products for curly and textured hair and promotes support organizations intended to empower women and people of color.

She has hosted the BET Awards, the American Music Awards and The Fashion Awards. She also executive produced The Hair Tales, a limited documentary series focused on Black women's experiences with their hair, and hosted the podcast I Am America from 2021 to 2023.

Ross hosted Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross, a Roku Channel series that followed her travels through Morocco, Mexico and Spain. She was named to the Time 100 in 2021 and received the Disney Legends honor in 2022. Her Broadway debut was announced for the solo play Every Brilliant Thing.