Tracee Ellis Ross is the star of the hit ABC comedy series “Black-ish,” which airs Wednesday nights. For her role, Ross was nominated for a 2016 Emmy Award in the category of “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.” Other accolades for her performance include a 2015 and 2016 NAACP Image Award for “Best Actress in a Comedy Series.”

Ross is best known for her starring role on the hit sitcom “Girlfriends” which ran for eight seasons on The UPN/CW network. Her role earned her eight NAACP Image Award nominations, including two wins, in the category of “Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.” She also starred in and produced the BET series “Reed Between the Lines,” which won her a third NAACP Image Award.

Ross was also seen in the short film series “FIVE”, a collection of 5 short films which aired on Lifetime in October 2011. She appeared in “Lili,” directed by Alicia Keys and produced by Jennifer Aniston and Paula Wagner, among others.

Other credits include turns in “Love, Loss, and What I Wore” on stage in New York and LA; guest starring roles on ABC’s “Private Practice,” CBS’ hit crime drama “CSI,” and HBO’s “LIFE Support” with Queen Latifah; and feature films “Hanging Up” with Jennifer Connelly and Marcia Gay Harden, and Tyler Perry’s “Daddy’s Little Girls.”

This past April, Ross returned to the BET Network to co-host the popular award show, Black Girls Rock, with Regina King for the fourth televised installment.

Recently, Ross is delving into the crevices of her imagination unearthing bold, eccentric and deeply-flawed characters. In crafting these captivating “fictional” women, she allows them to live in the “real” world. For example, Ross has attended New York Fashion Week as two of her characters: Madame Hiver, an extravagant, loveable, alcoholic life-coach to the stars, and Caliope Champignon, an opinionated French fashion blogger who claims to have “created” Barneys New York. Most recently, the grill wearing skeptical rapper TMURDA an internet sensation who made her television debut on BET’s Black Girls Rock.

Ross is a dedicated and passionate motivational speaker. She created and teaches “Tapping into Your Creative Well,” a workshop that encourages participants to discover and utilize their inner joy to keep their lives on course. She also works closely with teenage girls by volunteering with Aviva Family and Children Services in Los Angeles and The Big Brother Big Sister Program where she has held self-esteem workshops nationwide.

In 2012, the fashion influencer expanded her vast digital influence by launching her official website, TraceeEllisRoss.com. The lifestyle site utilizes Ross’ unique cross-cultural and joyful point of view to inspire the soul, body and mind of her followers. As a proud feminist, Ross utilizes her platform to disrupt the traditional culture of beauty and to teach the importance of self-love and “choicefullness” – a term she coined for being able to make well-informed choices, undetermined by external forces, that work for the chooser.