Tracee Ellis Ross Reveals Her Mother Diana's Advice for Successfully Hosting the AMAs
Diana Ross is coming out with some essential advice for daughter Tracee Ellis Ross ahead of her 2018 American Music Awards hosting gig.
“My mom told me really young when I was singing in a talent show in high school and so terrified that nervousness and excitement are actually the same feeling in your body, but just have a different label,” the actress, 45, told PEOPLE when asked about how she handles her pre-show nerves.
“The thing that’s so interesting is that my career is filled with nerve-racking, risky things, and I have a tendency to be like, ‘That’s scary, let’s do it,’ because that’s just the person I am,” she continues. “I get nervous because I care. I get excited because it’s something that I enjoy doing, so I just lean in.”
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On Tuesday, the Black-ish actress will take to the stage to host the AMAs for the second consecutive year — tying with Miss Ross, who hosted the show in both 1986 and 1987.
“My mom hosted the AMAs twice herself, so she always says to have fun, be yourself, be in the moment and enjoy that special thing that doesn’t happen anywhere else when you’re on stage and interacting with an audience — because there’s nothing like it,” says Ellis Ross, who trusts her mother’s guidance after her success in the industry for nearly six decades.
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“I grew up watching her and experiencing that and I definitely take to it very easily,” she says of the “I'm Coming Out“ singer, 74, who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award during last year’s show.
And while Ross’ advice will never go out of style, neither will Ellis Ross’ ability to captivate the audience with her iconic wardrobe. If last year’s fashion is anything to go by — she had a whopping 12 outfit changes — the audience is in for one stylish show.
“We haven’t completed our count, but my hope is that I have less just because my only gripe about last year is that all of those amazing clothes didn’t get seen as much as I wanted them to get seen,” she says of her wardrobe surprises for this year’s show. “Knowing me, if we’ve got the looks, I’m gonna want to put them on. So you might have to see it all on my Instagram instead of on the stage.”
The 2018 American Music Awards air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Oct. 9 at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC.
