If wearing a weave is what makes you feel beautiful, if wearing a wig, if wearing your hair pink, blue, that's what matters, in my opinion.
— Tracee Ellis Ross
For so many years, I was trying to beat my hair into submission, trying to get it to look like someone else's hair, and I didn't know how. I remember going through a phase where I even put beer in my hair, because I was told that would make it smooth and curly.
I have started using the expression 'compassionate activism': It's about keeping my heart open so that I can understand the point of view of the other person.
I think, for me, my goal is to continue to be teachable. I can't see around corners, but I want to be able to walk enough in my life where I go around more corners than I ever thought I could go around.
I don't always feel fierce and fearless, but I do feel like I'm a rock star at being human.
I was watching the Nina Simone documentary alone in my room, and I said out loud to myself, 'Why do we not know that this woman is beauty? She is beauty! Why did no one tell me this growing up? Why was her name not next to 'beauty' in the dictionary?'
I think it's possible to have a vision for your life that goes beyond any circumstance of anything that you've ever seen, and I encourage people to do that. But I don't think that any of us can do that in a vacuum.
Career-wise, there are so many things where you don't get what you think you want. I've had to make space for, 'Do I let that debilitate me and make me feel bad about myself? And make me feel like I need to change myself in some way?' Because I think changing myself is very different from growing and learning.
Everyone's always like, 'Be your best self!' And that drives me bananas, because when you're not, it makes you feel really bad.
There are things about my body that I don't love, but I'm not trying to look perfect every day - I'm trying to look like me!
There is no right way to do life.
I've heard people say, 'Why do you have to do a show that's called 'Black Girls Rock'?' or 'Why is there an expression called 'black girl magic'?' You know, when you say, 'Save the dolphins,' you don't mean, 'I don't like whales.' That's just not the way it works!
Even if politicians spew confusing, convoluted jargon, these people are still meant to represent me, and the only way that happens is if I stay informed and vote.
We should all do what we can in our daily lives to remember that we are glorious and powerful.
What I think is exciting is that, to a certain extent, there is a revolution happening where black women are owning their own beauty, despite the standard of beauty that in the past has not had space for it.
I don't have children. I don't know how I would feel if my child brought home a different race boyfriend or girlfriend. I don't think I would have any issue with it. But I have no litmus test for that.
I cook naked, and I walk around naked. I'm very comfortable with my body.
I used to literally collect friends that had hair like me. And it would start like this: 'What kind of products do you use?'
If you look back at what I believe and what I stand for, I am certainly a proud feminist.
I'm trying to find a little joy and happiness, a lot of giggles - and maybe some pretty shoes.
I think we're as happy as we make up our minds to be.
So about this Fierce and Fearless award, honestly, I am often afraid. I was terrified when I lost my voice. But I've come to understand and listen to the fear. I walk towards it. I lean into it to find the information and things that it has to teach me - unless it says run, and then I run.
I don't want to feel shamed into making a choice about my physical appearance or my body... or even about the choices I make about my life. I want to be feel empowered and inspired because they feel good to me.
Using my voice to recognize and celebrate other women is a joy for me.
As I get older, the more I stay focused on the acceptance of myself and others, and choose compassion over judgment and curiosity over fear.
In the context of our world, sizes 8 and 10 are teeny, but not for Hollywood. I had to ask myself, 'Do I want to be somebody who worries about what I'm eating? Or do I want to find a balance where I can be healthy and not consumed by that and maybe have to buy some larger pants?' I bought new pants.
I always had a thin frame, but when you hit 40 and eat french fries three days in a row, it's like, 'What happened?'
There's a power in what we hold as artists, and part of that comes with responsibility... to share the human experience and really allow that to be seen.
For me, it really is about the self-acceptance... the more time that I spend really accepting and allowing myself to be exactly where I am, the faster it is I move towards what I wanna be doing.
In my late 20s, I realized that I had a very clear social conscience and strong opinions about things like diversity, equality, and education, and while I tried to become more politically literate, I just couldn't catch on. It felt like I had walked into a movie that had already started, and no one would explain what had happened.
I eat in the same philosophy that I live with: joyfully!
My goal is not necessarily to be an inspiration. I think, if anything, I want to continue to be inspired and to continue to grow as a person.
There's no way you can go home and learn lines, because you need to go home and sleep. So I've figured out systems. I order two lunches so I can eat dinner before I leave work, so when I get home, I can just go to bed.
'Blackish' is set in current times. So, doing a police brutality episode in current times when kids are watching our show, it gives them an access point to have these kinds of conversations as family.
Every two months, I'll get a trim, and every two years, I'll get a cut. And my night ritual is that I go to sleep. I don't wrap my hair, I don't bun my hair, I don't do crap!
Share shame so you are not left alone with it. If you can't find another person, get a journal. I didn't say make a video on Snapchat. It's for you, not anyone else.
The national treasure that is Diana Ross is a dim light compared with who she is as a mother. My mom paved the way not only for my career but also for who I am as a human being.
My natural disposition is pretty joyful, but you know, I have bad days and sad moments like anybody else.
My goal is to make space for my selfhood. All of it. All of me, not just the parts I like or think that others like but all of it.
I feel like our culture is so good at pulling other people down and being so judgmental, but there's space for all of us to be who we are. There's space for us to celebrate each other and root for each other and not take each other down.
I need to see my own beauty and to continue to be reminded that I am enough, that I am worthy of love without effort, that I am beautiful, that the texture of my hair and that the shape of my curves, the size of my lips, the color of my skin, and the feelings that I have are all worthy and okay.
We live in a culture where people are constantly telling us how to get what we want, and within that message is, 'You need to be something other than you are.'
My weight fluctuates. I have years where I wear a size 10, and years where I wear a size 4.
I think that complicated, nuanced, deep, heavy - that's the place to go. That's what makes a great show. That's what all of us deal with in life.
I think culturally, even if you just talk about it in context, the standard of beauty has not included women of color. Period. Not just black women. If you are not a certain thing, there has not been space for you.
Human rights, race relations, gender politics, health care, and foreign policy - it's a lot to keep track of, and yet all of these things affect us in our daily lives. Making sense of everything requires meticulous unpacking of feelings, delicate navigation of social norms, and a community of love to help along the way.
Politics is tricky for me. For most of my life, I didn't think it applied to me.
I think it's huge that I'm wearing my natural hair texture on ABC in prime time. As Dr. Rainbow Johnson on 'Black-ish,' I think my hair is part of the reality of this woman's life. She has four children and is an anesthesiologist and a wife. She doesn't have a lot of time to fuss with beauty, so her look is pretty simple.
The experience of being a mixed person is all over the place - one of my best friends is Chinese and Italian; my other best friend is Lebanese and Trinidadian. The mix of heritage, culture or identity is something that our country is built on.
I'm toned, but I'm not cut. I like a little jiggle!
