After college, I shot a pilot for a show on Lifetime, which was basically House of Style for a TV lover. I think I got paid $1,500, and I was like, “Mom, I’m moving out! I made it!” I did two seasons of that, but I felt like a talking head and wanted to do more.
Black-ish is really a show about an American family and these are some of the topics that come up – for all of us, in different ways – and we get to see how this family is walking through it.
I was shy, but it came out in a big personality. My turning point was when I let my hair go naturally and I got contact lenses. I am really blind, by the way. I have these big eyes that don’t work!
I’m extremely blessed to have the extraordinary mother that I have, and I don’t mean Diana Ross, I mean the mother. My mom paved a road that didn’t exist, as did Oprah.
[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.
Someone asked me recently, “Do you get sick of people asking you about your hair?” And the reason I don’t is because I actually feel like you could chronicle my journey of self-acceptance through my journey with my hair. It’s a badge of something bigger.
When I’m not working, I spend a lot of time on my hair. When it’s time for my hair to get some rest, I either wear it in a ponytail, bun or my favorite “milkmaid” braid.
![Tracee Ellis Ross Quote - 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.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/somehow-kenya-bariss-has-figured-out-how-to-explor-683x1024.jpg)
![Tracee Ellis Ross Quote - [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.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/black-ish-creator-kenya-bariss-wrote-on-girlfriend-683x1024.jpg)
