Tracee Ellis Ross

Infobox Actor
name = Tracee Ellis Ross

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imagesize = 250px
caption = Tracee Ellis Ross at the 2007 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (Photograph by Christopher Peterson)| birthdate = birth date and age|1972|10|29
birthname = Tracee Joy Silberstein
location = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
height = 5 ft 10 in (1.5 m)
notable role = "Joan Clayton" in "Girlfriends"
academyawards =

Tracee Ellis Ross (born Tracee Joy Silberstein on October 29, 1972) is an American actress.

The daughter of singer/actress Diana Ross and Robert Ellis Silberstein; she is best known for her lead role on the UPN/CW NAACP Image Award and Emmy Award nominated series, "Girlfriends".

In 1973, Tracee (as an infant) appeared on a cover of Ebony magazine, alongside her mother and older sister, Rhonda. For Ross' primary and secondary education, she attended the elite Dalton School in Manhattan and the ultra exclusive Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. Like older sister Rhonda, Ross is a Brown University alumna. She appeared in plays there, and graduated in 1994. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1264/is_1_35/ai_n6006458] From there, she went on to model, write, produce, and most notably, act.

Career

Modeling

Ross worked in the fashion industry, as a model and contributing fashion editor to "Mirabella" and "New York."

As a model she worked with photographers Herb Ritts, Peter Lindberg, Francesco Scavullo, and Mario Testino.Fact|date=February 2007 She has also been featured in national advertising campaigns, including those for Gap, The Donna Karan Collection, Paul Mitchell, and DKNY.

She was the cover girl in the Fall 2006 edition of "Vibe Vixen".

Acting

Ross made her big screen debut in 1996, playing a Jewish/African-American woman in the independent feature film "Far Harbor." The following year, she debuted as host of "The Dish," a Lifetime TV magazine series keeping tabs on popular culture. In 1998, she starred as a former high school track star who remained silent about having been abused at the hands of a coach, in the NBC made-for-TV movie: "Race Against Fear: A Moment of Truth." Her next role was an independent feature film "Sue." In 2000, she landed her first major studio role in Diane Keaton's "Hanging Up." The same year, she broke into comedy as a regular performer in the MTV series "The Lyricist Lounge Show," a hip-hop variety series mixing music, dramatic sketches, and comedic skits.

Ross' biggest career achievement came when she landed the role of Joan Carol Clayton — a successful lawyer looking for love, challenges, and adventure, in the hit UPN/CW series "Girlfriends". The series centers on four young African-American women. In 2007, Ross won an NAACP Image Award in the category, "Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series" for her role on "Girlfriends". In Fall 2007 Tracee starred with her brother Evan Ross and Queen Latifah in the HBO movie "Life Support," That same year, she appeared in the Tyler Perry theatrical movie, Daddy's Little Girls.

Filmography

* "Labor Pains" (2009)
* "Daddy's Little Girls" (2007) Cynthia
* HBO Original Movie "Life Support" (2007)
* "Girlfriends" (2000-2008) TV Series…Joan Clayton
* "In the Weeds" (2000)…Caroline
* "Hanging Up" (2000)…Kim
* "The Lyricist Lounge Show" (2000) TV Series…Various
* "Race Against Fear: A Moment of Truth" (1998) (TV)…Kaycee King
* "A Fare to Remember" (1998)
* "Sue" (1997)…Linda
* "The Dish"(1997) TV Series…Host
* "Far Harbor" (1996) (as Tracee Ellie Ross)…Kiki

Herself

* Kanye West video for "Touch The Sky" (2006)
* Kanye West: College Dropout - Video Anthology (2005) (V)…Herself/Fifi LeBeouff (segment "The New Workout Plan")

Awards and nominations

External links

* [http://www.traceeellisross.com/ Official Website]
* [http://cwtv.com/shows/girlfriends/cast/traceeellis-ross Tracee Ellis Ross cast bio on The CW]
* [http://www.filmbug.com/db/343710 Tracee Ellis Ross's biography on filmbug]
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