Tracee Ellis Ross On Being ‘Happily Single’: I Want To Be In A Relationship, But I’m Not Going To Spend Time Moping Around

Tracee Ellis Ross On Being ‘Happily Single’: I Want To Be In A Relationship, But I’m Not Going To Spend Time Moping Around

“Black-ish” actress Tracee Ellis Ross,

The daughter of Motown icon Diana Ross, recently sat down with Martha Hayes, about “Facing her fears, feeling fulfilled and, ultimately, finding her own voice.”

The chat took place in Tracee Ellis Ross’s manager’s Beverly Hills office, only weeks before Los Angeles went on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

One of Tracee’ Ellis Ross’s most vivid childhood memories were times spent in her mother’s closet, trying on clothes.

“My mom will say, ‘You can’t take that!’ Or, ‘You’re not going to be able to fit into that.’ And I’m like, ‘Watch me try! My mom was a beanpole; like, the size of my leg, but I figure out how to fit into stuff – alter it!”

The Award-winning actor and producer wears many hats and recently landed her first leading role on the big screen, in new movie The High Note releasing later this year. The actress reveals that being the daughter of a musical icon, dabbling in music has also been a dream and fear of hers:

“It’s been my biggest dream and my most daunting fear to sing. But when you have a mother who is epic in that way, somehow secretly inside you think, ‘That’s not the thing to do. Pick something else.’”

Ross, will play a fictional, pop diva, Grace Davis in the new film, and says that nobody knew if she could sing or not.  She goes on to say how life-changing it was to face her biggest fear in such a public way

“Nobody knew if I could sing or not. My publicist called my other publicist and was like, ‘But who is singing?’ And she was like, ‘Tracee – she’s been in the studio for months…’ This was life-changing for me. To face one of your biggest fears and to face it in such a public way.”

Tracee has embraced being 45, unmarried and no kids, says that she wishes she spent more time growing up dreaming of her life, not a wedding:

“It’s one of the reasons I feel so strongly about telling the stories that I tell. I wish I had known there were other choices, not just about how I could be living, but how I could feel about the way my life was. I was raised by society to dream of my wedding, but I wish I had been dreaming of my life. There are so many ways to curate happiness, find love and create a family, and we don’t talk about them. It creates so much shame and judgement.”

Tracee, who has been recently linked to “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris, went on to clarify that she does, in fact, want to be in a relationship, but won’t spend time moping around in the meantime:

“People misinterpret being happily single as not wanting to be in a relationship. Of course I want to be in a relationship, but what am I going to do? Spend all the time that I’m not [in one] moping around? No. I’m going to live my life to the fullest and I’m going to be happy right here, where I am.”

Do you agree with Tracee Ellis Ross? Let us know in the comments.