Tracee Ellis Ross (2014)

1) Favorite hair products span such a large spectrum! But I love Kerastase mask conditioner. And Morrocannoil, Avocado Oil, I'm a big deep conditioner girl.

2) Favorite episode of Girlfriends? I wish I could tell you the name, but the subject matter: when Joan realizes that Tony is actually older than her, and the Cinco De Mayo episode.

Oh my aren't you talented! Jeez louise! Thank you for sharing and keep creating!

Whenever I start reading a script, if I start reading out loud for a role I'm interested in, I know that it will be a part that I will like.

Absolutely NOT. Hahaha! This is hard-earned. I'm not a fan of advice, but happy to offer the suggestion of what my own experience has been. Being a mixed girl is fantastic. It has allowed me to be comfortable in all environments, and to connect with people based on where we're the same, as opposed to where we're different. Who wants to be like anybody else, anyway? I think the individual journey of anyone of any kind is the fun part of life.

CSI. HANDS DOWN. Quick answer!

I thought I was going to gain 100 pounds while I was there! It was the best food ever! Everywhere you turned, there was another fancy truck that came to bring us food!

No, it's the exact concept that was pitched although I'm not a producer on the show, I know that ABC has been in complete support of it from the start.

This is the second time I've worked with Laurence, the first time was on CSI playing his wife or ex-wife. He's wonderful to work with, a profession. He's extremely talented, and he's a cool dude. He drinks chrysanthemum tea.

I think right now, Anthony is up there at the top. He is a generous actor and human being - hilarious to work with - and he's a caretaker. I think I get along with people well, though. I come from a really big family, and I just like people. And it's really fun for me to work with - like I love working and I love working with people. AH! I did a play with Natasha Lyonne, and I did the Nora Ephron play with her, and that was probably one of the most joyful experiences of my life. She and I together onstage - hilarious! Marcia Gay Harden is a favorite... I feel like I learned a lot from her about the business and about being an actor, and about camera angles, and coverage, and things I didn't know. I did my first movie with her, and I really did learn a lot from her. She's a really cool fuckin' lady.

It is a hysterical family comedy about a black family dealing with culture, identity, and generational differences.

MOCHI!!!!!!

Strawberry kochi ice cream. It's a japanese dessert. Listen to me: it's the best thing ever. THE BEST.

EVERYTHING. There was a burger truck, a sandwich truck, a pizza truck, there were amazing snacks, there was CANDY, there were treats - and it was like - I just couldn't eat all that I wanted to eat! It was really hard! And I was supposed to wear a nightie the entire time, and I was like "my stomach's sticking out" - it was hilarious!

The first is: THANK YOU so much for giving the show a chance, and I'm really happy you liked it.

The second is: 3 people. I would have loved to have met or sat with Katherine Hepburn. Martin Luther King. And Lucille Ball.

My creativity is fueled by so many things. It could be anything from a tree to a piece of art to a quote I read on instagram to some amazing meal that I have. I find that if I stay awake in my life, there's just never-ending amounts of things to inspire.

Thank you for loving Blackish!

There's always a chance for a reunion. I know we all (the cast, and Mara, our creator) would love to do that.

At this point, they really are all rumors! I'm so happy people are still interested in Joan, Toni, Lynn and Maya. I'm definitely game.

I have done stage work, it is my favorite medium as an actress. I LOVE performing onstage. And I hope you will get to see me on the stage at some point embodying a character live. I did a play in NY, the Nora Ephron play, then I did it again in LA... and other kinds of performances that I do as well.

HAHAHAHAHA

Twista might be complicated, because he's real speedy on the tongue. I'm SO glad you love my instagram! It brings me so much joy!

And I had a stuffed animal that was a seal that I named Lucille growing up because I loved her so much. Perhaps, also like naming your dog after her, not the biggest tribute in the world, but you know, we do what we can.

As a child, when people would bang on our car and it was hard to drive places! When I was growing up, my mom was huge. Does that sound weird? And it was hard not to be aware of the magnitude of her fame.

HAHAHAHA! I don't know if you need to be trying to get MY fro, I'm sure you have a pretty great head of hair yourself! Deep condition, deep condition, and trust your natural texture!

Right now, no, Blackish is taking up all of my time, but I'm always posting - new fun stuff on my website, so that's a good way to check me out.

Don't forget to condition - oh wait, I already said that!

I love a giraffe, simply because their eyes are really big, and it reminds me of me. But my best friend / soulmate and one of the loves of my life is my dog, Ladybug, so I might have to say dogs.

I don't know. I wear a lot of black... But if you look at my lipstick choices, I would have to say I love a jewel tone, pink, and red.

I would love to write a book, I don't know if it would necessarily be an autobiography. But thank you for the compliment (and the idea!).

Salami.

I think on having peace, gosh... that's a big one, isn't it? I feel like the Dalai Lama. I would say: the simplest meditation of allowing your body to breathe you instead of you breathing your body, and focusing on your breath, is one of the ways that I find peace. And I don't focus on trying to be free, I just be free!

I think the main thing that inspires me is how it makes me feel, and my inspiration and moods vary all the time, sometimes I want to feel strong, sometimes I want to feel sexy, sometimes I want to feel powerful, sometimes I just want to be comfortable. It just really depends on the mood I'm in.

Depends on what field you want to go into, but it's definitely a challenging pathway because 1 + 1 does not always equal 2 in the entertainment industry.

I'm really sorry that you tried it, because once you tried it I couldn't stop eating it.

Yes it is, and unfortunately they also have it at Whole Foods. One of the worst things that ever happened to me was discovering that you could actually purchase it, and not have to just eat it at the restaurant...

I am heading back home to LA and I hope to eat a lot of mochi. I think I'm celebrating by going back to work and continuing to do what I love to do.

ANYTHING SALTY, anything with lemon.... and if you put salt, lemon, and soy sauce together, I'm in heaven! I love sushi, I love cheese, I love salami, I love olives, I love french fries, I love potato chips, I'm a big foodie. I love tasty, wonderful, delicious, beautiful food.

I sure do hope so! The hardest part while filming Blackish and keeping up with my YouTube videos is that when I finish work, I don't want to put any effort into what I look like, so sometimes the idea of shooting a video and having to put my hair together makes me not want to do it. And yet if you saw my "pass me the hookah" video, you'll see I tend to shoot them anyway, because my hair looked insane. It's one of the things i love about YouTube, is that it really is me and the camera. So it's not that it takes up a lot of time, it's just that i'm really tired from work. And when I'm working, we're working such long hours that I'm not doing a lot of other things in my life that start me thinking about things that make me want to do a video.

"Enjoy the ride. It's all going where it's supposed to go, even if you get scared, you can trust that you're going to end up where you're supposed to end up."

That's hilarious and slightly disturbing. Was it...good?

Truthfully, it's taken a long time to embrace my body. And it's sometimes still a contentious relationship. I wrote a great blog post on it, on my site called Let's get Cheeky and another called A Culture Confused by Fake Boobs both of which explore body image and my relationship with my own body.

You're adorable! I hope you are better than me! Again, not a huge fan of advice, but happy to offer suggestion or share my own experience. Studying the craft of acting has allowed me a lot of confidence in my work, and I would suggest exploring that for yourself. It was also a great outlet for me when I was not actually being paid to act yet to continue to play as an actress. So staying in class, even when I was working, was a really big part of my journey. In general, in terms of the business, and as a woman, I've always been clear about what my boundaries are. So especially, as you are a young girl, just focus on developing your talent and your craft.

Awesome.

Currently re-reading "I know Why the Caged Bird Sings." It's difficult for me to read while I'm shooting, because I'm constantly reading the next script, and there are so many lines rolling around in my head, but one of my favorite things to do when I'm not working is to read, and some of my favorite books are: Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, Donna Tartt's Secret History, and then the guy who wrote The Color of Water also wrote another book that I loved - Dave Eggers is a writer I love - can't think of anything else right now but my house is filled with books.

I'm not big on trends. But I think my fashion must-have, right now, is a leopard coat. And I don't mean real leopard, just leopard print!

Stuff that I'm interested in, stuff that people ask about, things that I'm tickled by, any sort of inspiration. I really love a video camera. It's never-ending. That's why I love instagram! My YouTube channel is a larger extension than my instagram, but it has the same vibe for me. http://www.youtube.com/user/MissTraceeEllisRoss

Some of my favorite videos are:

• the series of Meet Michael videos
• there's a series of "For the love of"
• and then I did a whole Q&A series on there, where across all my platforms I let people ask questions and then sat and answered them all

There's something really fun for me about social media and the genuine interaction that you can have with people.

I definitely wished for more closure. I longed for a finale, or a movie. I wanted Joan to get married. BUT we did 176 episodes, we ran for 8 years, and I have not a complaint !

As I answered before, I know that the cast and Mara our creator are game to do something. Beyond that, it's not really up to me.

Wow, that's a big question!

Black-ish is a comedy first and foremost. But the underlying theme of culture, identity, and race in this country play a big part of the show. You'll have to watch to see what we explore.

DEFINITELY not camping. Not at all. My brother's a big camper, always tries to get me to go, and there's not an interest on my part. For fun, I hang out with all of my amazing godchildren, niece and nephew, I love kids. I love going to the movies, I love eating, I love traveling, I have amazing friends and I love hanging with them and giggling with them.

LISTEN TO ME:

I have BEEN CAMPING. I camped twice in a very major way, in a very real way, with my stepfather when I was 16. I went to Alaska. It was very real camping. I hated it. I did however catch a 45 pound king salmon before I cooked it and cleaned it myself, and as much as I've enjoyed the experience in hindsight, I would not do that again. It was SO COLD that I wore all 3 pairs of my pants that I had brought with me - because it's not like you packed a lot - I had 3 pairs of pants for a 6 day trip - and I wore all 3 pairs for all 6 days, and all my socks... it was terrible.

What do I do to relax? I love television. I love sleeping. I love baths. And I love laying in the sun.

And favorite music artist - couldn't tell you! I mean, I have some favorite albums of all time, but in all honesty, I love me some pop music!