TRACEE ELLIS ROSS: WHAT I NOW NOW

AS THE ACTRESS ADDS ‘SINGER’ TO HER ALREADY IMPRESSIVE SHOWBIZ RÉSUMÉ, SHE OPENS UP ABOUT THE JOY IN TAKING BIG RISKS

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Tracee Ellis Ross was admittedly nervous the first time her mother heard her sing – really sing. It’s understandable: Her mother is the legendary Diana Ross.

Tracee had just gotten the songs from her new romantic comedy, The High Note – in which she plays a famous singer – to “a good place” and decided it was time. Before she began sheltering at home in Los Angeles, “I picked up my mother and we sat in her driveway in my car, and I played them for her. She turned her head to me, and tears were running down her cheeks. She said, ‘Finally, finally.’ And, ‘Can I hear it again?’ My mum has always known I could sing. There have been gentle nudges over the years, so this was a big moment. We were both so excited.”

Tracee, who started working at 17 as a model before turning to acting on sketch comedy shows and Girlfriends, and reaching major stardom on Black-ish, continues to reinvent herself. At 47, she’s a beauty mogul (launching Pattern Beauty last year, for “curly, coily, tightly textured hair”) and, now, a recording artist headlining the movie’s soundtrack. “No matter how old you are,” she says, “when you do something new, you still feel new.”

Treat everything – even your house plants – with kindness.