Tracee Ellis Ross' Parents: All About Her Relationship with Diana Ross and Robert Ellis Silberstein

Tracee Ellis Ross may be the daughter of musical legend Diana Ross and music business manager Robert Ellis Silberstein, but to her, they’re just mom and dad.

While cultivating her own life as an adult, the Black-ish actress has looked at how she and her four siblings were raised by Diana.

"My mom was extremely present," she told InStyle for her 2022 cover story. "Waking us up for school, sitting for dinner with us and giving us a genuine, anchored, real family life and home life. The most important thing to my mother was not fame, it was her children."

But there was still no avoiding some aspects of her mother’s stardom growing up. “You couldn’t not know. There was no way around that,” she told PORTER in 2020 of knowing about the famous family she was born into.

“There were certain moments she couldn’t be involved in, like taking me school shopping because it was distracting,” Tracee explained. “And yeah, I was at the White House multiple times as a child, Andy Warhol painted me, and Michael Jackson was a friend of the family. But I was aware of how unique and extraordinary it was; it wasn’t something I took for granted.”

From her upbringing to supporting her career achievements as an adult, here’s everything to know about Tracee Ellis Ross’ relationship with her parents, Diana Ross and Robert Ellis Silberstein.

Tracee didn’t sing for Diana until she was an adult

Tracee was born on Oct. 29, 1972, but it took nearly 40 years for her to sing for her mother.

"There’s a reason I waited 47 years to let my voice out publicly!" she once told PEOPLE. "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 decided it was time to take action and drove over to Diana’s house in early 2020, when she played the song "Love Myself" from her movie The High Note while sitting in her driveway.

"It felt like bringing her my heart," Tracee recalled, adding that Diana asked her daughter to play the song again. "And then my mother said, 'Finally. Finally.' "

"I have wanted to sing for so long," she added. "My mom teared up, and we just kept looking at each other. We were both so excited. My mom has always known I could sing. There have been gentle nudges over the years, so this was a big moment."

Tracee changed her name when her dad did

Tracee’s parents were only married from 1971 to 1977, and her father later dropped his last name Silberstein, choosing to go by Ellis instead. Tracee and her siblings, Rhonda and Chudney, also followed suit, all changing their last names to Ross.

The Golden Globe Award winner explained to W Magazine, “My father’s name is Robert Ellis Silberstein, and [when] he dropped Silberstein, we all dropped Silberstein. I really felt strongly that I wanted my father’s name in my name, because everyone knows I’m my mom’s daughter, but I’m also very much my dad’s daughter.”

In addition to dropping Silberstein, Tracee also changed her middle name from Joy to Ellis. “And I wanted him, when my name hit a screen, to know that I was also part of him. And so Tracee Ellis Ross it is,” she explained.

Tracee doesn’t feel like she’s living in Diana’s shadow

Despite her mother’s fame, Tracee has said that she has never felt like she’s living in her shadow.

“I’ve never felt like I was in my mother’s shadow,” the actress told PEOPLE ahead of the 2016 Emmys. “If anything, I felt like I was in her embrace. So it’s never been an effort to do that.”

“But I did have a sense of wanting to find my own path as a person,” Ross continued. “And it is really special to be in this moment, at 43 years old, to be nominated for an Emmy for the first time."

“It feels good,” she added at the time.

Tracee gets her sense of humor from Robert

Tracee may take after her mom in some aspects, but her humor is thanks to Robert.

She explained to Refinery 29, “My dad is hilarious. I don’t know if I got it genetically, but his perspective and point of view on life and ability to laugh at himself and laugh at life and see the humor in life is something that I love about him. And that I’m very grateful I got that.”

Tracee has highlighted their lighthearted times together on Instagram, including a trip to Whole Foods in 2017 where they laughed through eating turkey samples at the deli and juggling lemons.

“Oh, I love this guy and he makes me laugh so hard. So much like him! #IGetItFromMyDad,” she captioned the video.

While accepting the Fashion Icon Award at the 2020 People's Choice Awards, Tracee not only thanked Diana for her “sense of style” and “epic closet,” but also gave her dad’s funny side a shoutout.

“Thank you to my father for paying for those chestnut suede Ralph Lauren jeans that I tricked him into buying me when I was 14, for his impeccable style and for being my humor twin,” she shared on stage.

Tracee is her mom’s biggest fan

Tracee has uplifted her mom through her many accomplishments, especially when their professional paths have crossed. In 2017, Tracee did double duty as host of the American Music Awards and was also supporting Diana who received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“She’s a bit of an international treasure in my opinion,” Tracee told PEOPLE ahead of the show. “I’m excited that a younger generation gets to witness that, even just through the television screen.”

She added, “Also I think it’s a really extraordinary thing to honor somebody who’s had such an everlasting career, whose music has touched lives in such a poignant and special way. Music reaches into your heart, and my mom’s voice has been a part of people’s lives for a long time.”

Not only did she get to honor her mom’s musical legacy, but her status as a style icon as well with looks inspired by Diana. “I’m a style girl, so there will be a couple nods to my mother and her extraordinary fashion," she said at the time.