Tracee Ellis Ross Stuns on Elle USA Magazine Cover

She's literally "The State of Black Beauty"

Tracee Ellis Ross covers the inaugural ‘The State of Black Beauty‘ issue talking with Kerry Wasington via Zoom (just days before their back-to-back nights hosting the Democratic National Convention), about Black representation, re-framing how Black beauty is perceived, and how they show up for Black women and each other.

Her photo shoot —led by an all-Black team and guided by the creative direction and brilliance of the star herself — pays homage to the legacy, resilience, and artistry of Black hair.

In it, Tracee talks about her hair journey as well as starting her hair products brand:
“I used to shop at all the beauty supply shops that were on Wilshire and one of the stylists was like, “You don’t know the amount of people that come in here with a picture of you pulled out of a magazine and they want your hair. If you were to do a line of products, you’d be a millionaire.” I was like, “What? My hair?” And, you know, there was no social media at the time so there was no connection between the community and me. It took about ten years to create Pattern. The mission is two-fold, to create effective products for the curly, coily, and tight textured community. The second part of the mission is to be an active space to celebrate Blackness and the power of Black beauty.”

On women empowerment:
“It takes a lot of courage to advocate for yourself. As a woman, and as a Black woman, advocating for yourself is actually a form of resistance. It is how each of us push the world to make sure that the real estate matches the reality of who we are and what we deserve.”