Tracee Ellis Ross played one of the last decade's quintessential TV matriarchs:
"Black-ish's" Dr. Rainbow Johnson. But her real life mom is one of the most famous stars of
all time. Here's a look at Tracee Ellis Ross' relationship with her mom, Diana Ross.
Tracee Ellis Ross was born in 1972 to Diana Ross and her first husband,
music executive Robert Ellis Silberstein. Tracee grew up in a period where her mother
was busy establishing her solo recording career, venturing into the film world for the first time,
and breaking new ground as an African-American woman. Therefore, you might expect that Diana
Ross was one of those celebs who left most of the child-raising to the nannies.
But Tracee says that's not the case. In a 2017 interview with Good Housekeeping, Tracee revealed
just how hard her mother worked to ensure that she didn't miss out on her kids growing up.
"My mom has an amazing work ethic. To her, 'on time' is 10 minutes early. I've never
heard her complain. She was busy going to the supermarket, waking us up for school,
sitting with us during dinner, recording while we were sleeping,
never leaving for longer than a week so she wouldn't be away from us."
Tracee said that her mother always made time for her children.
"Whether she was about to go onstage or busy having a meeting,
she never responded with, 'Not now, I don't have time.'"
From figure-hugging bodysuits to fur-trimmed coats,
Diana Ross never looks anything less than fabulous whenever she hits the red carpet. So,
you perhaps can't blame her kids for wanting to make the most of their famous
mom's stylish wardrobe from the moment they were old enough to play dress-up.
Her second oldest child, Tracee Ellis Ross, was particularly keen on borrowing clothes
from her mother, although she freely admits she often did it without her permission.
"Steal. Borrow. Borrow-steal."
Speaking to W Magazine in 2017, the "Black-ish" star said,
"It sort of was more like stealing. I'm not going to lie. She would leave the
house and I went in her room and looked out the window and saw her car go down the driveway,
and I marched myself right into her bathroom and started taking clothes. [...] What I
liked to do is put them in my closet and live with them as if they were mine."
Tracee also recalled how she was very nearly busted one time when Diana returned home
unexpectedly to pick up a forgotten item. But the quick-thinking youngster managed to
convince her mother that she was only in her closet as she wanted to help reorganize it.
Tracee Ellis Ross may well now be a super glamorous star in her own right,
but that hasn't stopped her from keeping up the habit of borrowing from her mother's wardrobe.
During her chat with W, the actress said,
"I go to my mom's house — my mom has the most extraordinary taste, top to bottom,
whether it's the dishes or the clothes, from t-shirts to gowns to hats to coats."
Even when she's not rummaging around Diana Ross' own personal collection, Tracee still
likes to get her famous mother's opinion on all style matters, including hair. Tracee told W,
"I have a really good mommy. She told me I should never cut my hair,
and I haven't cut my hair since."
"The first thing I do is take care of my hair!"
All five of Diana Ross's biological kids followed her into the showbiz world: her first-born,
daughter Rhonda Ross Kendrick, enjoyed a stint on "Another" World and has also forged a career
as a jazz-soul singer; third daughter Chudney Ross has worked as a producer and production manager;
son Ross Naess works as an actor-producer; and her youngest,
son Evan Ross, is an actor and musician who was a regular of The CW's "90210" reboot.
But Tracee told W that her mother never pushed any of them to follow in her footsteps.
"She really gave us space and the courage to live the lives that we want to be living,
and to have time to dream and conjure up the life that I wanted to be living.
I could really curate or design the world I wanted to be living in."
Some showbiz kids can understandably crumble under the pressure of living up to their famous folks,
particularly if they enter the same industry. But not Tracee Ellis Ross.
After becoming only the fifth woman of color to receive an Emmy nod in the outstanding lead
actress in a comedy series category in 2016, the star was asked by People Magazine whether
the honor proved once and for all that she'd truly distanced herself from her celeb mom, Diana Ross.
The actress, who had been nominated for playing Dr. Rainbow Johnson on "Black-ish," replied
"I've never felt like I was in my mother's shadow.
If anything, I felt like I was in her embrace. So it's never been an effort to do that."
Tracee has since been nominated in the same category several more times,
although she's sadly not yet been given the chance to make an acceptance speech.
Ahead of the 2020 Emmy Awards, for which she received her fourth nomination,
Tracee told Variety that she still gets excited about the honor:
"Are you kidding me? I will tell you though that it was not on my radar at all.
I literally did not even know it was happening that morning.
So when I turned on my phone, I was like, 'What is going on?'"
Tracee Ellis Ross was understandably ecstatic when she learned that she'd
been nominated for the Emmy Awards for the very first time in her career in 2016. But
after dancing and running around her dining room, the actress knew exactly
who she wanted to share the news with first. The Black-ish star told People,
"I opened my front door and I don't know where I thought I was trying to go,
so I closed the door and I called my mom. She was really cute and we screamed for a little bit."
The actress certainly had plenty to celebrate on the day.
In addition to her own outstanding lead actress nomination, Tracee was thrilled with the fact
that "Black-ish" had been featured in the outstanding comedy series category, saying,
"It's the sweetest thing in the world that we all get to celebrate in this together."
Diana Ross was also one of the first people that Tracee contacted when she
found out she'd been nominated for a Golden Globe that same year. The actress told ET,
"My dad was really excited. I got him on the phone. I got my mom on the phone. My whole
family is very excited. My mom in the text said, 'I want this for you. I want this for you.'"
It worked: Tracee went on to win the Golden Globe.
Diana Ross might not be a pushy stage mom, but that doesn't stop her from telling the
world about how proud she is of her children's achievements. Indeed, as reported by ET in 2016,
the ex-Supreme went to great lengths to share her joy at the news that daughter
Tracee Ellis Ross had been nominated for one of the most prestigious awards in the TV industry.
Not content with just a simple congratulations card or celebratory message on social media,
Diana went the extra mile by taking out an advertisement — and a full-page
one at that — in The Hollywood Reporter. Alongside a picture of
her second-born smiling while clasping her face, the ad featured the caption,
"Congratulations to my daughter Tracee Ellis Ross on her nomination for Lead Actress in
a Comedy Series for her work on Black-ish. So proud of you. Love, Mom and the Ross family."
Sadly, Diana's efforts didn't result in victory — that year,
Tracee lost out to "Veep's" Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Tracee Ellis Ross appears to be just as supportive of her mom's career. While hosting the American
Music Awards in 2017, the "Black-ish" star and the rest of her family proudly watched from the
sidelines as Diana Ross performed a medley of her biggest hits, including "I'm Coming
Out" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." The Motown legend then invited all of her nearest
and dearest in attendance to join her on the stage as she accepted the lifetime achievement award.
"This is an extra special evening because my mom is receiving a lifetime achievement award!"
Of course, Diana had served as host of the same ceremony way back in the mid-1980s,
a fact that Tracee was keen to share in her opening monologue. Indeed, she told the audience,
"We're making history! We are the first mother and daughter who have ever hosted
the American Music Awards. I mean, she did it twice, but there's always next year..."
Tracee did actually go on to host the following year, too.
Tracee also paid tribute to her famous mom in her own unique way in 2015.
In a fun loving homage, the actress donned a number of one-piece swimsuits,
lifted some weights, and showed off a few moves while recreating the exercise-themed
video for Diana's 1981 single. "Work That Body," on Instagram. Fun!
Considering her mother is one of the world's most popular female vocalists,
you can understand why Tracee Ellis Ross may have been a little nervous showcasing her
own vocal range. The actress even told The Daily Mail in June 2020 that, as a child,
she'd been so afraid and shy to follow in her mother's footsteps that she pleaded with her
Swiss boarding school headmistress for permission to sit out a school production. Tracee admitted,
"I said I thought it was unfair I was being asked to sing."
Thankfully for the star, her first trip to the recording studio ended up making
Diana Ross cry — and for all the right reasons, too. During an interview at the Dallas stop of
Oprah Winfrey's 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour, the actress recalled the time
when her mom first heard her sing in the 2020 movie, "The High Note." Tracee said,
"She pushed my arm and then she turned to me and her face was covered in tears.
And she said, 'Finally."'
Tracee described the moment as one of the "most beautiful" in her life,
telling Winfrey that she'd also learned a valuable life lesson through the nerve-wracking playback:
"I had to realize that it's not the sound of my voice,
it's the honesty of my voice that is the key. I'm not supposed to sound like my mom."
Tracee Ellis Ross seems to like nothing more than spending her downtime recreating
throwback snaps of her superstar mom. Take a look at her Instagram page, and you'll see
numerous shots of the Black-ish star looking uncannily like Diana Ross back in the day.
She told guest host Sean Hayes on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, quote, "I kind of love doing it."
But it's not just at home where Tracee will pay homage to her mother's fabulous dress sense.
It seems as though pretty much any time the Golden Globe winner graces the red carpet,
she's throwing a nod to one of Ross' classic looks.
At the 2021 Emmys, for example, Tracee donned a dazzling red Valentino gown complete with
the kind of voluminous black curls her mom sported during her '70s disco phase.
And at the most ridiculous event on the showbiz calendar, the Met Gala,
that same year the actress took inspiration from one of Diana's best-loved film roles, fashion
designer Tracy Chambers in 1975's "Mahogany," with a royal blue maxi dress and short angular bob.
These two are so adorable together, we can't wait to see what they do next!
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