Tracee Ellis Ross Says She's 'Loved' Getting Older: I'm 'Comfortable in My Skin'

Traces Ellis Ross opened up about how honored she is to age in a recent interview with NPR

Tracee Ellis Ross at the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards
Photo: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images

Tracee Ellis Ross loves getting older.

The superstar actress opened up to NPR on a recent episode of the podcast It's Been a Minute about how she feels about aging in an industry that is absorbed by youthfulness.

When asked quite plainly about the topic of getting older, Ross, 50, candidly said, "Well, I personally have always loved getting older, like genuinely, I think it's an honor to get older. Not everybody gets to get older, and I'm not sure why we don't look at it that way."

She continued, "I know we are obsessed with youth. I would not go back if you paid me. Sure, my skin was tighter. Sure, my legs held muscle in a different way. But, I am so much more comfortable in my skin."

Tracee Ellis Ross/Instagram

Adding to the benefits and positives she sees in herself later in life, she added, "I intuitively know how to handle things that used to baffle me. I know when it's time to leave a party. I know that 'no' is a complete sentence. And this is wonderful."

However, she did admit, "At the same time, there's a whole bunch of stuff ... that ain't happening that I really thought was gonna be happening," like the fact that she has turned into a poster child for being single and happy despite actively wanting a relationship. She also said, though, that she is not one to sit around and wait to be chosen when she has a life to live and much to accomplish.

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Despite her love for aging, Ross still has a sense of humor about it. Just recently, the actress opened up about what aging and being "hot as ever" feels like for her while taking her first dip in the pool this year.

Tracee Ellis Ross Dances Around in Her Bikini While Joking About Her Age: ‘Hot as Ever’
Tracee Ellis Ross Instagram

In the video shared to her 11.2 million followers, Ross stepped into a pool in a blue floral bikini. She opened the video by saying, "We know what time it is. It's time for the first dip," before joking about how appropriate it is that her hair was dirty because "that's how we do this." She pulled her hair down around her face and got down to business.

With her "dirty hair happening," she started to style it before dancing to the chirps of some birds. While twirling in the sunshine and water, she bent her knee and cringed, before going on a tangent. "I just want you to know I just bent my knee, just bent it, and it hurt; it was like 'ouch,' which is exactly what happens when I wake up in the morning now," Ross joked.

"I wake up at 50, hot as ever, and its as if someone beat me up while I was sleeping; I'm like 'oh, oh,' that's how I wake up, 'ouch, ow, ugh' and then I have to stretch, who knew that was gonna be real?" Ross shared in the video before going right back into dancing and dunking her head under the water.

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