Tracee Ellis Ross Says Pursuing Singing Was ‘Terrifying’ As Diana Ross’ Daughter

For Tracee Ellis Ross, her journey to pursuing a singing career as the daughter of the legendary Diana Ross didn’t come without fear. 

The “Black-ish” actor revealed that she had always felt terrified to fulfill her childhood dream of singing out of fear of being compared to her superstar mother during an interview with People published Friday. 

“There’s a reason I waited 47 years to let my voice out publicly!“ she said. ”It was my childhood dream to sing but terrifying when your mother is who my mother is. The idea of comparison; that’s in a child’s mind or an adult’s mind. I could be taken down and obliterated.”

Tracee Ellis Ross, who memorably starred as Joan in the hit early 2000s TV series “Girlfriends,” overcame her fear earlier this month when she debuted her first song, “Love Myself,” a single off the soundtrack for her upcoming film “The High Note.”

The actor said during an Instagram Live earlier this month that as a child she had dreamed of becoming a professional singer but then “hid it away.”

During an appearance on “Good Morning America” via video chat on Tuesday, Tracee Ellis Ross said that her mother cried when she played her new song for her for the first time. 

“She was like, ‘Finally,’” she said. “I have an incredibly supportive mom who really allows her children to find their way and I think she knows when there’s things we really want to do but we haven’t done them … she’s just really supportive and really proud, it’s exciting.”

In 2015, Diana Ross memorably surprised her daughter by calling her onstage to sing Billie Holiday’s “Lady Sings the Blues” during a show in Las Vegas.

Tracee Ellis Ross wrote on Facebook at the time that stepping onstage felt like she was “6 years old again.”

“Anyway, here it is, me stepping onstage with my mom, fighting through so many childhood fears and fantasies,” she later added. “There is no way to describe the pressure, the fear of what it feels like to allow my voice to be heard as Diana Ross’ child.”