American actress Tracee Ellis Ross was born on October 29, 1972 to singer Diana Ross and first husband Robert Ellis Silberstein. Tracee was educated at the Dalton School in Manhattan, the exclusive Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, at Brown University and the esteemed William Esper Acting Studio. As an infant, she was featured on the cover of Ebony magazine with her mother and older sister, Rhonda. Since graduating from Brown, she went on to model, write, produce and act.
As a model, Tracee Ellis Ross worked with renowned photographers, and has been featured in national advertising campaigns. Some of them were for Gap, The Donna Karan Collection, DKNY and Paul Mitchell. Ross is also a contributing fashion editor to publications like Mirabella and New York. In 2006, she became the cover girl for the Fall edition of “Vibe Vixen.”
In 1996, Ross made her acting debut in the independent film Far Harbor. Her next endeavor was hosting the Lifetime TV magazine series, The Dish. She later starred in the NBC made-for-TV movie Race Against Fear: Moment of Truth. After appearing in the independent feature Sue, she landed her first major studio role alongside Diane Keaton in Hanging Up. In 2000, she became a regular performer for MTV’s hip-hop variety series The Lyricist Lounge Show. She immediately rose to fame when she was cast in the lead role of Joan Carol Clayton in the CW series Girlfriends. Her portrayal of the successful lawyer earned her a 2007 NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series category. Ross followed this up with a role in the HBO movie, Life Support, working with her brother, Evan Ross, and Queen Latifah. She was also seen in the Tyler Perry movie, Daddy’s Little Girls as Cynthia. Her other appearances include the Kanye West music videos, “Work Out Plan” and “Touch the Sky.”