Tracee Ellis Ross Stars in 'Supreme Being' by Olivia Malone for Porter Edit

Martha Hayes interviews Tracee Ellis Ross, daughter of the great Diana Ross, for the May 4, 2020 issue of Porter Edit. Solange Franklin styles the award-winning actor and producer in dreamy, high-drama dresses from Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Christopher John Rogers, Christopher Kane, Emilia Wickstead, Richard Quinn in images by Olivia Malone. The fashion story ‘Supreme Being’ was shot before the COVID-19 outbreak, with the interview in lockdown.

Read the interview and see the fashion credits at Porter Edit.

Tracee Ellis Ross earned a Golden Globe award in 2017 for her role as Rainbow in ‘Black-ish’, the American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. She went on to co-create and executive produce the 2019 spin-off ‘Mixed-ish’. It’s her starring role in the upcoming comedy film ‘The High Note’ that has her excited.

“It’s been my biggest dream and my most daunting fear to sing,” reveals Ross, who plays a fictional, larger-than-life pop diva, Grace Davis, in her first leading role on the big screen. “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.’”

 “Nobody knew if I could sing or not,” explains Ross, who co-stars in the film with Dakota Johnson and Ice Cube.. “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.”

Explaining that she uses overcoming fear as a form of power and self-advancement, Ross confirms that her 2018 TED Talk also pressed her up against the wall in the fear department.  ‘A woman’s fury holds lifetimes of wisdom’ is hands down the scariest thing she’s ever done.

Read the interview and see the fashion credits at Porter Edit.