Tracee Ellis Ross Is an American Actress, Model, Comedian, Director

Tracee Ellis Ross is an American actress, model, comedian, director and television host, best known for her lead role as Joan Clayton in the comedy series Girlfriends and Dr. Rainbow Johnson in the comedy series Black-ish.

The daughter of actress and Motown recording artist Diana Ross and her ex-husband Robert Ellis Silberstein. Her father is Jewish, her mother is African-American and Tracee Ellis-Ross considers herself to be a Baptist. Actor and musician Evan Ross is her half-brother. She adopted her mother's last name in the hope that it would be of benefit to her acting career. 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 appeared in numerous films before returning to television to star in the BET sitcom Reed Between the Lines, for which she received her third NAACP Image Award. Growing up, Ross attended Riverdale Country Day School in New York and the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. She was a model in her teens and 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’ work on the series Black-ish has earned her three NAACP Image Awards and nominations for two Critics' Choice Television Awards, in addition to two Primetime Emmy Awards. Her 2016 nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series was the first for an African-American woman in that category in 30 years.