Tracee Ellis Ross Says Her Career Blossomed After She Turned 40

Women and wine have two very important things in common. The older we age, the more refined, distinguished, and potent we become. While each birthday may feel like another step toward the nursing home to some, Tracee Ellis Ross says that at nearly 50 years old, she's in her prime.

The Black-ish actress has sashayed through decades of entertainment history without aging a bit, and according to Tracee, the secret to her fountain of youth is joy. While many women are contemplating retirement and cashing out their 401k, Tracee says that she's unapologetically living her best life at full-speed and defying the limits of father time at every turn.

Not only are we confronted by the ticking of our biological clocks, we're also met with the expectations of our loved ones of where we should be in our careers, relationships, and financial situations. Do yourself a favor and listen to Tracee Eliss Ross when she says that age ain't nothing but a number. F*ck Father Time.

In an intimate conversation with Sarah Paulson for Variety, Tracee Ellis Ross got real about life at 46 and had a word about the beauty that comes with maturity.

"I do feel like so many doors are open to me now. And it started for me in my 40s."

She explained that as an up-and-coming director at the height of her career, she is still sometimes confronted with the inevitable signs of getting older. She continued:

"For me, it's the physical confrontation of my face changing. Society makes me think it's supposed to look young, pretty and wrinkle-free. This is my history right here. This is my story."

While society may preach the false ideology that beauty is monolithic, Tracee grew up with the support of a mother who proved the opposite. The Motown princess shared that her mother, Diana Ross, is living proof that you can still be sexy at 72. She told Sarah:

"I'm really grateful I have a mom [Diana Ross] who's 75 and her face looks like a woman who swallowed the sun. She's gorgeous, sexy and full of agency. So that's what I long to walk toward."

You may have been a hot lil' something at 19, but you're going to be iconic at 37. Tracee reminds us that truth about age is, you're the only person that can really define what it means. Last year, in an interview with InStyle Tracee shared that she felt sexier in her skin at 45 than she had been her entire life:

"The gift of age is that you actually get to have the boldness and the courage to be that woman. Some of the things I've discovered is that I actually like myself! And I like getting older. At 45, I feel the sexiest and the most beautiful I've ever felt. I didn't say I look my most beautiful, I said I feel my most beautiful, and that's what's important to me."

Take it from Tracee, sis'. You'll be sexier at 72 than you were at 17, so embrace your maturity and the fruits of your labor like the tall glass of wine that you are.

Read Tracee's full interview with Sarah here.

Featured image by John Shearer/Getty Images