Top 150 Quotes & Sayings by Tracee Ellis Ross

I'm baffled by the people who say, 'I'm just not going to vote.'

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.

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 used to think 40 was old. Now I think, 'Hey, 40's hot!'

I loved being a redhead! I always wanted to try it. I was obsessed with Lucille Ball growing up. I really wanted to try it but I always thought that doing it would ruin my hair.

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.

We as black people are not a monolithic bunch. We are not all the same, and neither are women. Instead, we are all individuals who have these extraordinary stories to tell and share with each other that will enrich all of our lives and help us all become more ourselves and better people.

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!

I have a vocabulary in clothing. It's like a whole language.

I've never felt like I was in my mother's shadow. If anything, I felt like I was in her embrace.

On 'Black-ish,' I like my makeup to be really natural - so much that I can do it myself. My character is a mother of four and a doctor and a wife, who would not have time to be putting on eyeshadow or curling her lashes.

I cook naked, and I walk around naked. I'm very comfortable with my body.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is like a hero, to have played different comedic roles. She gets sexier, funnier, and better with time.

I'm toned, but I'm not cut. I like a little jiggle!

Clothing started as an armor for me. It was one of the ways that I protected myself from the world. It evolved into a form of creative expression.

As a woman of color, we're raised to know we have to be twice as good.

I don't do what I do to get nominated. I do what I do because I love it.

My mom had beautiful clothes. My mom is elegant; my mom is glamorous. But my mom is also really real, and I grew up with a mother who had babies crawling on her head and spitting up on her when she was wearing gorgeous, expensive things, and it was never an issue.

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.

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.

I feel like I'm on the inside for the first time. Inside the castle. I have an Emmy nomination!

I eat in the same philosophy that I live with: joyfully!

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 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.

I think we're as happy as we make up our minds to be.

I don't always feel fierce and fearless, but I do feel like I'm a rock star at being human.

I grew up on the ragged edge of self-acceptance, where I was holding on to it, but it was easy to fall off. But as I found my way inside myself, I've been able to accept my own hair, my own shape.

My natural disposition is pretty joyful, but you know, I have bad days and sad moments like anybody else.

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.

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 am a connoisseur of products. I check out everything, I try everything.

It is important to me to take care of my skin. In general I don't like to wear foundation; I'm not a fan of the look. I like my skin fresh and natural enough so my freckles show through.

Having been in the business for a while, I never like to look forward. You kind of enjoy what's happening while it's happening and leave the rest up to God, the angels, the trees, the stars - whatever you want to call it.

Because of my unique experience as my mom's child, the beginning of my journey was more about me trying to figure out who I was on my own. My mom is one of the greatest moms and so supportive of all my siblings and of all of us being who we are, and not who she wanted us to be.

I listen to my body. Some days all I want is a good steak and others, I crave veggies and quinoa.

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 used to watch my mom put her makeup on for the stage, and it was one of the most special moments. I would sit quietly on the dressing room floor and watch her put her face on. I think she looks most beautiful in the morning when she wakes up with no makeup on... it's my favorite look on women.

I think my biggest tip - and I consider it a part of my beauty routine - is getting my sleep, without a doubt. I do a true eight hours.

It is important for me to feel like myself on a red carpet - not the way somebody else thinks I should look.

I have a few rules on lipstick... I don't wear gloss because I can't talk properly. I like matte lipsticks; I like an opaque shade that you can't see my lip color through at all.

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.

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.

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.

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.

We should all do what we can in our daily lives to remember that we are glorious and powerful.

Here is my wish and my desire and my pledge as well: that we remember our true nature and our womanhood. That we own and know that we are more than our bodies and yet our bodies are these sacred, beautiful, rhythmic houses for us.

I don't really talk about my personal life. It's a strange and funny and weird thing. Sometimes you have a conversation with someone and the paparazzi snaps a picture of you and people decide you're dating. If I try to answer everything people say, I would be up all night.

I just really strongly promote pushing against this culture of perfection. I mean, I'm sorry, for me, Spanx don't feel good. I've tried one of those waist-trainer things on - that hurt like the bejesus.

I'm attracted to bold women - I collect them. I met one of my best friends when we both were about 22 and working at 'Mirabella' magazine. I was wearing this blue dress I had borrowed from my mom, and I didn't know I had deodorant lines all over it until my friend signaled to me.

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.

In this day and age, I ask anyone I date right away: 'Are you married? Are you in a relationship with anyone? Does anyone think they're in a relationship with you?' And by the way, if someone says, 'Yes, I am dating other people,' that's not necessarily a deal breaker. But you have to communicate it, not hide it.

Lily Tomlin was one of the early comedy greats who influenced my courage to be the person I am.

Keep in mind that diversity does not just mean black. It means all of it - age, weight, gender.

I'm always touched by people's different stories of who they are and why they made the choices that they made. I feel so empowered by the story behind the person.

Putting all your eggs in one basket has never worked for me. Personally, I find if I decide too quickly that someone is my match, I start to get a little nutty.

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.

Keeping the facts differentiated from the fantasy is incredibly helpful in gathering your information as you discover if a person is a match for you.

'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.

The experience of both acting and producing has been wonderful. It certainly has created a full plate. But it is very exciting and rewarding to have creative input on the show. 'Reed' is about love and family and for me, playing a hand in shaping it has been deeply gratifying.

Red carpet is a little bit scary. It's not about expression. It's about taking a pretty picture in a really weird, awkward way, with so many people watching. It's a glamorous part of the job, but it requires its own kind of courage.