Tracee Ellis Ross: Holding On to Joy In Hard Times

14 snips

Mar 17, 2026

Tracee Ellis Ross, award-winning actress and founder of Pattern, shares personal stories about joy, identity, and turning 50. She talks about chosen family and the cauldron people who hold your fire. She describes rituals that tether her to self, the freedom of wearing her mother’s dress at 50, and stepping into a new, open decade rooted in aliveness.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Singing I’m 50 And I’m Free In Mom’s Dress

Tracee Ellis Ross described her 50th birthday performance in her mother Diana Ross's dress where she grabbed a mic and sang “I’m 50 and I’m free.”
The moment was unrehearsed, happened inside a gathering of family and

INSIGHT

Cauldron People Explain Instant Deep Bonds

Tracee's 'cauldron' metaphor: souls are made in batches and you find 'cauldron people' who share an inner roadmap and ingredients.
She uses this to explain instant deep connections across time and circumstance.

ADVICE

Tether Yourself With Friends And Small Routines

Use friendship and small daily routines to tether you when your mind spins into old horror stories.
Tracee credits therapy, friends, and basic acts like making the bed or doing laundry to keep her grounded.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this deeply moving — and one of our all-time favorite — conversations, we take a beautiful, funny, honest dive inside the “wonderful, dangerous” mind of Tracee Ellis Ross.

As the world asks us to stay engaged without burning out, Tracee offers a powerful model for how to show up fully without losing yourself. This conversation is about love — not just romantic love, but the kind that changes everything: choosing yourself, holding fast to joy, building deep connection, and being in charge of your own life.

Tracee reflects on approaching 50 and what it means to step into a new decade rooted in freedom, depth, and aliveness — not hustle. She shares the unforgettable story of her 50th birthday, standing in her mother’s dress, surrounded by her cauldron people, and singing, “I’m 50 and I’m free.” A true lighthouse moment for all of us learning how to stay whole while we show up.

-Tracee’s go-to tools for quieting self-doubt and staying tethered to her truest self-How she made peace with not being everyone’s cup of tea-The story behind becoming “Fifty and Free” in her mother’s dress-Why she rejected the lie that women exist to be chosen-How to find your cauldron people — the ones who hold your fire

About Tracee:

Tracee Ellis Ross is an award-winning actress and producer best known for her roles in ABC’s award-winning comedy series BLACK-ISH and GIRLFRIENDS. For her role as “Rainbow Johnson” in BLACK-ISH, as a comedic leading actress, Ross won the Golden Globe Award in 2017 as well as nine NAACP Image Awards. She was nominated for five Emmys and two Critics Choice Awards.

Ross is the CEO and Founder of Pattern, a haircare brand for the curly, coily and tight textured masses.

Ross executive produced and narrates Hulu’s THE HAIR TALES, a docuseries about Black women, beauty and identity through the distinctive lens of Black hair.

Ross will be producing a ten-episode podcast “I Am America,” which aims to break through the noise during this divided time in our country in an effort to create space and to heal.

Follow We Can Do Hard Things on:

Instagram — ⁠https://www.instagram.com/wecandohardthings⁠

TikTok — ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@wecandohardthingsshow⁠