In a recent interview, Tracee Ellis Ross spoke about the joy of getting older, her new haircare line and perfectionism.
Warm, hilarious, sharp-witted and kind – those are the adjectives that come to mind when describing Tracee Ellis Ross, best-known for her role in the award-winning hit US show Black-ish, following an upper-class Black family as they navigate white spaces while retaining their cultural identity.
She isn’t afraid to share how she feels and recently spoke out on society’s obsession with ageing, especially in Hollywood – and we couldn’t love it more.
In her latest interview in The Observer, the actor shared her feelings about turning 50 in October.
“I’ve always been excited about getting older,” she shared. “I love getting wiser and having more experience.
“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have vulnerabilities and discomforts around my age, but trying to pretend or hide the things that I feel insecure or uncomfortable about doesn’t make them any less comfortable, you know?”
She also pointed out that ageing should not be seen as a “bad thing” – reminding us all that it should really be seen as an honour as “not everybody has that honour, with everything going on in this country, with all of the violence and the children that don’t get to live that long…”
And to celebrate turning the big 5-0? Tracee has big plans.
“My dream would be to buy a piece of art that will be a marker of this point in my life,” she said. “And I would like a Faith Ringgold… I mean I don’t even know if I can afford that….”
But don’t think Tracee doesn’t suffer with perfectionism like the rest of us – her frankness on this topic highlights how perfectionism affects all of us. But that doesn’t mean it has to be a relationship we carry for the rest of our lives.
“I have struggled with perfectionism,” she admits, “and now I shun it. I want to be in a relationship with myself as I am. I don’t want to be fighting with an image that I put out that I can’t keep up with. I’ve posted pictures of me in my pyjamas and my hair everywhere, my glasses… I just feel like it’s part of the whole picture. I did not ‘wake up like this,’” she says, “That whole Beyoncé song… it was very, very, uh, challenging for me,” she says.
There’s no denying that our society has an obsession with ageing (and often more so, anti-ageing with the aspiration to ‘stay young’) but we can all fight back on this rhetoric and ensure our value is not tied to our appearance. As Tracee says, ageing is an honour not all of us get to experience. So why not make the most of it?
Wherever you do today, we hope you celebrate you, as you are in this moment. Cheers!
Looking for more inspiration? Check out Platinum’s 50 over 50 influencers and be inspired!
