Tracee Ellis Ross has spoken about how her mother, singing legend Diana Ross, was reduced to tears after hearing her daughter singing in a recent movie role.
The 47-year-old Tracee is appearing as fictional singing diva Gracie Davis in the new movie The High Note, which required her to perform a number of songs. Yesterday she revealed her mother’s reaction to her singing voice to England’s Daily Mail newspaper.
The Black-ish actress claimed that her mother first heard her sing the songs while they were driving. She said that Diana hadn’t seen the movie but that she “picked her up and we sat in my car. We were holding hands and crying as the songs played. It was a special moment.”
Despite the fact, her mother clearly approved of her singing voice, Tracee also revealed that she thought it unfair she was being asked to sing in the movie, as she feared she’d been unfavorably compared to her mother.
Tracee also admitted that when she was a child, she was painfully shy and afraid of singing in public. As a schoolgirl, she once went to the headmistress’s office at her Swiss boarding school to beg to be excused from performing in a play.
Diana Ross kept her music separate from her family life
However, Tracee also explained that she found it relatively easy to distance herself from Diana’s singing because her mother had always made sure to keep her musical life and her family life separate.
“My mom recorded while we were sleeping, so she could be available when we were awake,” she explained. “So, I didn’t get to sit and sleep in a recording studio.”
“I knew where the mic was, but I didn’t know what the controls were for. For Christ’s sake, doesn’t someone just press the red button?!” she joked.
Tracee Ellis Ross plays a singing diva in The High Note
In the movie, which is directed by Nisha Ganatra (Late Night), Tracee is joined by Dakota Johnson who’s character is the assistant to her singing diva. Tracee recently insisted to The Hollywood Reporter that the movie was not about her own mother.
When speaking about the movie, Tracee said: “This part, this role, this movie, this story was special enough that it would lead me through my fears to the other side to a little bit of freedom. It was a story that I felt really strongly about telling. This script came along, and I chased it. I wanted it so badly, and I’m so glad it happened.”
The High Note is currently available on premium Video on Demand.