--- description: Find out why Tracee Ellis Ross is one of the 100 most influential people of 2021. title: Tracee Ellis Ross: The 100 Most Influential People of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta078b467f1c1f141/698a1cced0753369d8e6bf2a/tracee-ellis-ross-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 15, 2021 # Tracee Ellis Ross by Thelma Golden  Emily Shur—AUGUST I first met [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://time.com/4260010/tracee-ellis-ross-how-to-be-true-to-yourself/ "undefined") decades ago through a mutual friend, who invited us both to the ballet. Within each other, we immediately recognized a shared passion for culture and all the enriching possibilities it can bring to life. Since then, I’ve come to know Tracee as an amazing friend, watched her career flourish and admired the ways in which she imbues her many roles on the screen—and in the world—with unflappable dedication, intelligence and grace. Tracee’s given middle name is Joy, which aptly describes her. She walks through life informed by a sense of purpose while embodying passion, warmth, boundless creativity and an incredible sense of humor. And she is a true disrupter. She authentically shows up as an actor, advocate, CEO and style icon who works tirelessly to bring lasting change to her industry. Tracee understands the impact her voice has, and she uses it with deep compassion and clear-sighted intention. The future of Hollywood is one that Tracee Ellis Ross is creating. _Golden is the director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095934/tracee-ellis-ross/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095934/tracee-ellis-ross/"},"headline":"Tracee Ellis Ross","datePublished":"2021-09-15T11:15:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:41.749Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095934/tracee-ellis-ross/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","T100 2021","T100 2021 Artists"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta078b467f1c1f141/698a1cced0753369d8e6bf2a/tracee-ellis-ross-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta078b467f1c1f141/698a1cced0753369d8e6bf2a/tracee-ellis-ross-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095934/tracee-ellis-ross/","name":"Tracee Ellis Ross"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 | See Everyone on the 2021 TIME100 List","description":"See every 2021 TIME100 Honoree in One Minute","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ZgB6AGK2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2021-09-15T10:45:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZgB6AGK2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095934/tracee-ellis-ross/","duration":"PT57S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095934/tracee-ellis-ross/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```