Tracee Ellis Ross is having a good time

Everyone's favourite Rich Auntie tells it like it is about self-love, black hair, the choice to be child-free and how, at 50, she's the sexiest she's ever been...

- JADE TAYLOR COOKE

There's no other word for it: Tracee Ellis Ross is cool. Not cool in that early-2000s, aloof, you-want-to-beme-but-you-never-will-be way, but cool in the sense that no matter who you are or how you're engaging with Tracee, she never fails to make you feel good. Then, in the midst of those good vibes, she'll slide in a cheeky rejoinder about one of the causes she is unwavering about, from the democratic process to dismantling the patriarchy.

Perhaps that's why, in the modern pantheon of celebrity, Tracee seems to be universally loved. 'Did you just say why do people love me?!' she snort-laughs, accidentally dribbling a sip of rosé back into her wineglass in the Harper's Bazaar 'Poolside Pearls of Wisdom' video. You can't answer that question! I don't know. Do people love me? Here's what I'll say. I hope that people feel like themselves when they're around me, and feel safe to be themselves when they're around me. And maybe that makes people think it's me that they love, but it's really themselves that they love. How about that?'

Meditations about self-acceptance in this vein are classic Tracee. And yes, thanks to the influencer economy, we've all been battered over the head with the concept of 'authenticity' lately. But there's nothing schmaltzy about the way Tracee champions moving through the world as your own fine self.