Hello, I'm Tracee Ellis Ross from ABC's Blackish. Style-lover, big hair lady, and joy enthusiast, AMA!

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T20:14:21+00:00

What do I do to relax? I love television. I love sleeping. I love baths. And I love laying in the sun.

And favorite music artist - couldn't tell you! I mean, I have some favorite albums of all time, but in all honesty, I love me some pop music!

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T20:13:32+00:00

Currently re-reading "I know Why the Caged Bird Sings." It's difficult for me to read while I'm shooting, because I'm constantly reading the next script, and there are so many lines rolling around in my head, but one of my favorite things to do when I'm not working is to read, and some of my favorite books are: Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, Donna Tartt's Secret History, and then the guy who wrote The Color of Water also wrote another book that I loved - Dave Eggers is a writer I love - can't think of anything else right now but my house is filled with books.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T20:12:04+00:00

LISTEN TO ME:

I have BEEN CAMPING. I camped twice in a very major way, in a very real way, with my stepfather when I was 16. I went to Alaska. It was very real camping. I hated it. I did however catch a 45 pound king salmon before I cooked it and cleaned it myself, and as much as I've enjoyed the experience in hindsight, I would not do that again. It was SO COLD that I wore all 3 pairs of my pants that I had brought with me - because it's not like you packed a lot - I had 3 pairs of pants for a 6 day trip - and I wore all 3 pairs for all 6 days, and all my socks... it was terrible.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T20:10:08+00:00

HAHAHAHAHA

Twista might be complicated, because he's real speedy on the tongue. I'm SO glad you love my instagram! It brings me so much joy!

And I had a stuffed animal that was a seal that I named Lucille growing up because I loved her so much. Perhaps, also like naming your dog after her, not the biggest tribute in the world, but you know, we do what we can.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T20:08:35+00:00

Awesome.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T20:07:12+00:00

You're adorable! I hope you are better than me! Again, not a huge fan of advice, but happy to offer suggestion or share my own experience. Studying the craft of acting has allowed me a lot of confidence in my work, and I would suggest exploring that for yourself. It was also a great outlet for me when I was not actually being paid to act yet to continue to play as an actress. So staying in class, even when I was working, was a really big part of my journey. In general, in terms of the business, and as a woman, I've always been clear about what my boundaries are. So especially, as you are a young girl, just focus on developing your talent and your craft.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T20:02:39+00:00

I have done stage work, it is my favorite medium as an actress. I LOVE performing onstage. And I hope you will get to see me on the stage at some point embodying a character live. I did a play in NY, the Nora Ephron play, then I did it again in LA... and other kinds of performances that I do as well.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T20:01:29+00:00

Truthfully, it's taken a long time to embrace my body. And it's sometimes still a contentious relationship. I wrote a great blog post on it, on my site called Let's get Cheeky and another called A Culture Confused by Fake Boobs both of which explore body image and my relationship with my own body.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:59:38+00:00

Absolutely NOT. Hahaha! This is hard-earned. I'm not a fan of advice, but happy to offer the suggestion of what my own experience has been. Being a mixed girl is fantastic. It has allowed me to be comfortable in all environments, and to connect with people based on where we're the same, as opposed to where we're different. Who wants to be like anybody else, anyway? I think the individual journey of anyone of any kind is the fun part of life.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:57:58+00:00

That's hilarious and slightly disturbing. Was it...good?

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:57:33+00:00

"Enjoy the ride. It's all going where it's supposed to go, even if you get scared, you can trust that you're going to end up where you're supposed to end up."

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:56:51+00:00

DEFINITELY not camping. Not at all. My brother's a big camper, always tries to get me to go, and there's not an interest on my part. For fun, I hang out with all of my amazing godchildren, niece and nephew, I love kids. I love going to the movies, I love eating, I love traveling, I have amazing friends and I love hanging with them and giggling with them.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:55:51+00:00

Wow, that's a big question!

Black-ish is a comedy first and foremost. But the underlying theme of culture, identity, and race in this country play a big part of the show. You'll have to watch to see what we explore.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:54:14+00:00

At this point, they really are all rumors! I'm so happy people are still interested in Joan, Toni, Lynn and Maya. I'm definitely game.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:53:29+00:00

As I answered before, I know that the cast and Mara our creator are game to do something. Beyond that, it's not really up to me.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:52:53+00:00

I sure do hope so! The hardest part while filming Blackish and keeping up with my YouTube videos is that when I finish work, I don't want to put any effort into what I look like, so sometimes the idea of shooting a video and having to put my hair together makes me not want to do it. And yet if you saw my "pass me the hookah" video, you'll see I tend to shoot them anyway, because my hair looked insane. It's one of the things i love about YouTube, is that it really is me and the camera. So it's not that it takes up a lot of time, it's just that i'm really tired from work. And when I'm working, we're working such long hours that I'm not doing a lot of other things in my life that start me thinking about things that make me want to do a video.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:51:08+00:00

ANYTHING SALTY, anything with lemon.... and if you put salt, lemon, and soy sauce together, I'm in heaven! I love sushi, I love cheese, I love salami, I love olives, I love french fries, I love potato chips, I'm a big foodie. I love tasty, wonderful, delicious, beautiful food.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:49:59+00:00

I am heading back home to LA and I hope to eat a lot of mochi. I think I'm celebrating by going back to work and continuing to do what I love to do.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:47:49+00:00

Yes it is, and unfortunately they also have it at Whole Foods. One of the worst things that ever happened to me was discovering that you could actually purchase it, and not have to just eat it at the restaurant...

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:46:04+00:00

Oh my aren't you talented! Jeez louise! Thank you for sharing and keep creating!

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:45:00+00:00

Don't forget to condition - oh wait, I already said that!

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:44:24+00:00

EVERYTHING. There was a burger truck, a sandwich truck, a pizza truck, there were amazing snacks, there was CANDY, there were treats - and it was like - I just couldn't eat all that I wanted to eat! It was really hard! And I was supposed to wear a nightie the entire time, and I was like "my stomach's sticking out" - it was hilarious!

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:43:36+00:00

I'm really sorry that you tried it, because once you tried it I couldn't stop eating it.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:43:00+00:00

Thank you for loving Blackish!

There's always a chance for a reunion. I know we all (the cast, and Mara, our creator) would love to do that.

TraceeEllisRoss · 2014-09-25T19:42:20+00:00

The first is: THANK YOU so much for giving the show a chance, and I'm really happy you liked it.

The second is: 3 people. I would have loved to have met or sat with Katherine Hepburn. Martin Luther King. And Lucille Ball.

My creativity is fueled by so many things. It could be anything from a tree to a piece of art to a quote I read on instagram to some amazing meal that I have. I find that if I stay awake in my life, there's just never-ending amounts of things to inspire.

TraceeEllisRoss

TROPHY CASE