Being able to merge the worlds of black-ish and Girlfriends was surreal for me -- and so much fun, girlfriends. Tracee Ellis Ross More Quotes by Tracee Ellis Ross More Quotes From Tracee Ellis Ross Sometime in my second year at Brown [University], I took an acting class. And the lightbulb went off for me. I fell in love with it. I realized that everything I was afraid of about myself, all my fears, could be used in that world. Tracee Ellis Ross acting class years One of the photographers was like, "Can you stop talking and try to look sexy for a minute?" Tracee Ellis Ross sexy trying talking My mom helped me. I was very shy growing up, but my shyness sort of manifested in a big personality. Tracee Ellis Ross growing-up mom personality The clothing, the makeup, the freedom of expression in [the models'] bodies. It was Linda and Christy and Naomi at the time. So I modeled before college. Tracee Ellis Ross makeup college expression Throughout high school, I was obsessed with magazines. I used to just comb through them and plaster things on my wall. Tracee Ellis Ross magazines wall school And it [acting] was exciting to me. And scary. Tracee Ellis Ross scary acting exciting This woman [Bow] was not simply a reflection of who her husband was. She was her own whole self. And even if we weren't exploring life through her eyes, when we did see her it was clear that she had a full life. Tracee Ellis Ross husband eye reflection I wanted Bow's hair and makeup and clothing to look like a woman who has four children, a career, and a full life. For example, she won't wear eyeshadow unless she's going out. Because it takes a lot of time to put eyeshadow on. She's a woman who has style, but it's all about functionality - she grabs stuff from her closet. Tracee Ellis Ross makeup hair children Why am I beating my hair up? Because I want it to look like something that it isn't? These are questions that I've been pondering my whole life. Tracee Ellis Ross want hair looks It would drive the photographers crazy because I would giggle and tell jokes. I was gregarious, and looking back, I realize I had a captive audience. Tracee Ellis Ross realizing crazy photographer My generation is one of the first generations of "choiceful" women - women who have actually had the choice of how they architect their lives - and I don't think shame should have any place in that. But as that generation, you get cuts and bruises. Tracee Ellis Ross cutting should-have thinking Getting to a place where I am comfortable saying things was hard-earned for me. I've chewed on the ground glass of my own experience. I saw Gloria Steinem speak, and I was just like, Shut the front door. She was saying that she didn't come into her own until her 40s, and she was asking herself the question, Why should she have to get married? And I just thank God someone asked that question, right? I think we're the first generation of women asking ourselves certain questions and deciding for ourselves. Tracee Ellis Ross glasses doors thinking I think our culture promotes fear and shame. Tracee Ellis Ross shame culture thinking You might be someone's favorite, but you might not be someone else's favorite. I will tell you that there was a [casting notice] that said "Tracee Ellis Ross type," but [the producers] didn't want to see me. I've been in this industry long enough to know that even if someone wants to promise me something, it doesn't mean that it's going to happen. There are so many things at play. But it was flattering and exciting. Tracee Ellis Ross play long mean Somehow [Kenya Bariss] has figured out how to explore these very weighty, sticky, sharp topics, and still be funny and not make fun of the topic. Tracee Ellis Ross kenya topics fun I don't know that the stereotypical idea of what it is to be a child of somebody hugely famous necessarily comes into play in my life. Tracee Ellis Ross play children ideas I never heard my mom say, "Not now, I'm busy." But I did have extraordinary experiences that I'm very aware were extraordinary. I mean, I traveled Europe before I was 12 years old, had been to the White House numerous times. Andy Warhol photographed me; Michael Jackson called our house. Tracee Ellis Ross mom mean years I was cast in a movie [originally] called Mr. Spreckman's Boat, starring Marcia Gay Harden and Jennifer Connelly. I felt like an "actress." Both of them have won Oscars - maybe that means I might one day. Tracee Ellis Ross gay one-day mean I was recently watching Rihanna on the Billboard awards, and I was like, My God, she's incredible! And then I looked up her age [28]. She's always been talented. She's always been a star. But when you see her, she's becoming herself. It's age that happens. That's what I respond to. Tracee Ellis Ross awards stars age [Black-ish creator] Kenya Bariss wrote on Girlfriends. We've been friendly since then. He sent me [the pilot] and said, "I wrote it for you." But I know what that means in this industry. Tracee Ellis Ross black girlfriend mean