In an interview with Ebony online, actress Tracee Ellis Ross explains why despite fame, money, and having a famous daughter, life isn’t exactly incredibly easy for her either. Yes, she’s just like you and me with her own insecurities — though I’m sure with a better credit score.
EBONY: What has this never-ending journey of figuring out who you are been like as a Black woman in this industry? What has been the biggest hardships to overcome?
TER: Because of my unique experience as my mom’s child, the beginning of my journey was more about me trying to figure out who I was on my own. My mom is one of the greatest moms and so supportive of all my siblings and of all of us being who we are, and not who she wanted us to be. But because of the uniqueness of my circumstances, the beginning of my journey with identity was really about finding myself. Figuring out who I was as a Black woman in the business was the second part of my journey, but an inevitable part. Like embracing my ass; these things fall under the very specific context of being women of color in the industry that I’m in and the world I live in too. I realized at a very, very young age that in order for me to make sense of the overwhelming attention that was coming at me, that wasn’t about me, but about my mother, I had to figure out who I was and what I had to offer. Otherwise somehow I was constantly battling feeling like a fraud.
EBONY: I’m just curious about what challenges Tracee Ellis Ross now, faces that people might not even know about.
TER: Did you read the article I wrote on boobs on my website?
EBONY: Yes. Yes!
TER: I think and for me, I can only speak for myself, I know that life is a mixed bag. Some days are harder than others. There’s this weird myth out there about money and fame that has been perpetuated further because of reality television, that life is some sort of fairytale and when you get all of those external things, everything is going to be fine. It’s just not true. I think the most powerful thing that I have learned and that has been helpful for me is making friends with the uncomfortable feeling.
You can read the interview in full at EBONY.com.
–– Michael Arceneaux
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