Actress Tracee Ellis Ross hailed the influence of her mother, the singer Diana Ross, after being honoured with the fashion icon award at the E! People’s Choice Awards.
Ross, known for her work on TV comedy Black-ish, followed in the footsteps of Victoria Beckham and Gwen Stefani in picking up the prize.
The 48-year-old used her acceptance speech to thank her father, music manager Robert Ellis Silberstein, for passing on his “impeccable style,” before turning to her mother.
You deserve the world and then some, @TraceeEllisRoss.👑 Thank you for blessing us with your effortless style over the years! #TheFashionIcon #PCAs pic.twitter.com/qVdAJns3gH
— E! People's Choice (@peopleschoice) November 16, 2020
Describing soul singer Diana, 76, as “the icon herself,” Ross thanked her for “her example, her sense of style, her epic closet and her glamour that introduced me to the power of fashion”.
She added: “When I started paying my own bills, I did not have enough money to buy the clothes that matched the taste level I was accustomed to from stealing from my mom’s closet.”
Ross said she would jump on stage following her mother’s performances to collect the beads that dropped off her extravagant outfits, “so that I could have pieces of the magic, seeds of the fashion dream that I was cultivating for myself”.
And discussing the importance of fashion, Ross said: “Let your clothes be your superhero cape, allowing you to be the best you you can be.
“Activate the clothes through your joy and commitment to the world that you want to see. It doesn’t matter if you wear black tie or a Black Lives Matter T-shirt, but suit-up and show up, because our action creates our destiny, our joy creates space for our freedom.”