Tracee Ellis Ross Says It’s ‘Fascinating’ To Be ’45 & Single & Childless’

Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross made a startling declaration in the new issue of InStyle Magazine. She noted that she is happy to be “45 and single and childless.”

While women are applauded for marrying and raising a family, there are just as many women who find fulfillment in their personal and professional lives as their journey takes them in a decidedly different direction.

“It’s sort of fascinating to be 45 and single and childless,” she revealed in the magazine. “Happily single, I should add. Not at home crying about it.”

The actress noted, “these are very big and very personal questions that aren’t anyone’s business but that somehow, like the right to choose, become fodder for public conversation.”

The daughter of legendary singer Diana Ross feels saddened that today’s society still shames women for wanting something other than the norm to feel fulfilled.

“Some of the ability to reflect on what I really want comes from pushing up against a society that shames me for not having the expected trappings,” she said to the publication. “I’m very pleased with my existence these days. Have I had to learn to make friends with loneliness? Yes. I think if I were in a relationship, it would be the same.”

The actress practices what she calls “choiceful solitude,” where she enjoys spending time quietly at home and not out socializing.

Ross remarked that she is at peace with her decision to focus solely on herself, learning to say “no” to things that do not please her and to make choices that are an expression of who she truly is.

That doesn’t mean days at the spa for the actress. She works out, takes care of her skin, and tries to make good choices when she indulges. Still, she notes, that there are some vice’s she will not give up.

“I love potato chips more than anything in the world,” Ross noted, so she exercises so they can be enjoyed without guilt.

Her inspiration for putting herself first? Her dynamic mother Diana Ross, once a member of the iconic girl-group The Supremes, whom she loved watching onstage in her fabulous gowns singing her hit songs. Ross noted that as she has gotten older, she realizes the difference between her mother as the glamorous diva she saw onstage and a woman in her “full glory,” connecting with the amazing gift she had been given.

Tracee Ellis Ross will host the American Music Awards, which will air October 9 on ABC.

Black-ish airs Tuesdays on ABC.