Diana Ross’ largest followers are her 5 kids.
The “Ain’t No Mountain Excessive Sufficient” singer welcomed her eldest daughter, Rhonda, 53, with Motown legend Berry Gordy in 1971. The identical 12 months, Diana married her first husband, music govt Robert Ellis Silberstein, and so they went on to welcome two extra daughters: Tracee, 51, and Chudney, 48. Diana break up from Silberstein in 1977 and went on to marry Norwegian businessman and mountaineer Arne Naess Jr. in 1986. The previous couple had sons Ross, 36, and Evan, 36.
Lots of Diana’s kids have adopted in her footsteps and pursued careers inside the leisure trade.
Throughout a 2018 visitor look on Watch What Occurs Stay, the youngest of the Ross clan, Evan, mentioned rising up in a “large household” helped him navigate his and spouse Ashlee Simpson’s personal blended household. “I grew up in a household the place I had plenty of totally different siblings,” Evan instructed host Andy Cohen. “I grew up with an enormous household. I believe it is a ravishing factor.”
Black-ish star Tracee can be grateful for her household and particularly her mother, who regardless of the calls for of her profession, was a really current and devoted mom.
“The Diana Ross that the world is aware of — this world, worldwide icon who paved the way in which and altered what glamour regarded like and who Black ladies have been on the planet, significantly in that capability — her Diana Ross-ness would not maintain a candle to her mom-ness,” she mentioned on Naomi Campbell’s YouTube sequence No Filter with Naomi.
“I am so shut with my mother and my household,” she added.
Tracee echoed this sentiment in her 2022 InStyle cowl story. “My mother was extraordinarily current,” she mentioned. “Waking us up for varsity, sitting for dinner with us and giving us a real, anchored, actual household life and residential life. An important factor to my mom was not fame, it was her kids.”
Here is all the pieces to learn about Diana Ross’ 5 kids: Rhonda, Tracee, Chudney, Ross and Evan.
Rhonda Ross Kendrick, 53
Diana’s eldest youngster, Rhonda Ross Kendrick (née Rhonda Suzanne Silberstein), was born on Aug. 14, 1971. Whereas Rhonda’s organic father is Gordy, she was raised by Diana’s first husband Silberstein — who wed when Diana was 2 months pregnant.
In a 2015 New York Put up interview, Rhonda opened up about studying about her organic father as a teen. “The underside line was, I regarded similar to [Gordy], and my sisters regarded similar to their father, a 6-foot-tall Jewish American man,” she instructed the outlet. She added that she and her sisters had considered Gordy as an “uncle,” so the information was extra comforting than surprising.
Very similar to her dad and mom, Rhonda is a gifted musician. The singer-songwriter’s music is “based mostly in conventional jazz, however pulls from the complete African diaspora,” in accordance with her web site. “I primarily contemplate myself a storyteller and a poet. I exploit my music to encourage and to uplift,” she mentioned.
Rhonda married pianist Rodney Kendrick in 1996 and the 2 welcomed son Raif-Henok Emmanuel Kendrick in 2009. Raif-Henok launched his “grandmommy” Diana on the 2019 Grammys.
In 2017, Rhonda acquired the gig of a lifetime: opening for her mother on tour. “I used to be very moved when she requested me to open for her as a result of what it says to me is that sure, I am her daughter and sure, there’s nepotism at play, however it’s not solely that,” Rhonda mentioned in an interview with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “As a result of for 20 years I have been singing, she’s by no means [asked me] earlier than. So what that claims to me is she likes what I’m constructing as my very own model and my very own artwork and my very own profession. She likes it, she respects it and he or she feels that it is a good companion to what she is doing and I agree.”
Rhonda can be a keynote speaker and an Emmy-nominated actress.
Tracee Ellis Ross, 51
Diana and Silberstein welcomed their first youngster collectively, daughter Tracee Ellis Ross (born Tracee Pleasure Silberstein), on Oct. 29, 1972.
Tracee has made a reputation for herself as an actress, having landed her first large gig on the CW’s Girlfriends. She performed “den mom” Joan Clayton for all eight seasons from 2000 to 2008. In 2014, she started starring as Rainbow Johnson on ABC’s Black-ish. Tracee earned 5 Emmy nominations for her efficiency as Rainbow; the sitcom’s eighth and last season aired in 2022.
Whereas Tracee’s Black-ish character is a spouse and mom, she instructed InStyle that she was “fortunately single” in 2018.
“It is type of fascinating to be 45 and single and childless,” the actress mentioned. “These are very large and really private questions that are not anybody’s enterprise however that one way or the other, like the fitting to decide on, change into fodder for public dialog. A few of the capacity to mirror on what I actually need comes from pushing up in opposition to a society that shames me for not having the anticipated trappings.”
Tracee doubled down on her perception that “society spoon-feeds” ladies the thought of marriage and rising a household throughout a 2021 interview with Marie Claire. “I used to place myself to sleep dreaming of my marriage ceremony,” she mentioned. “And I might nonetheless love all of that, however what am I going to do, simply sit round ready? Shut up. I’ve received so many issues to do.”
A kind of issues is launching her personal hair care line, Sample Magnificence. The concept first got here to her whereas engaged on Girlfriends. “It began out for me as a result of I could not discover merchandise and wasn’t seeing my pure magnificence mirrored again to me on the planet,” Tracee mentioned on The Tonight Present in 2021. “Then after I received on Girlfriends, I noticed that I used to be not the one one. There have been so many individuals who have been searching for merchandise that truly met their hair the place it was and the way it grows out of our head.”
She continued, “So I attempted, and tried, and tried for 10 years, and at last I made a decision to do it on my own. It has been essentially the most rewarding factor to be a CEO and founder.”
In 2020, Tracee was named a Trend Icon on the Individuals’s Alternative Awards. Throughout her acceptance speech, she gave her mother main kudos, calling Diana “the icon herself.” She additionally recalled gathering the beads that fell off Diana’s attire as a baby so she may “have items of the magic, seeds of the style dream that I used to be cultivating for myself.”
The actress made her singing debut in her 2020 film The Excessive Observe. The movie additionally marked the primary time her mother had ever heard her sing. “There is a motive I waited 47 years to let my voice out publicly!” Tracee instructed ipromiseyoumedia on the time. “It was my childhood dream to sing — however terrifying when your mom is who my mom is. The concept of comparability; that is in a baby’s thoughts or an grownup’s thoughts. I may very well be taken down and obliterated.”
Tracee recalled sitting in her automotive along with her mother and taking part in her a music from the movie. “After which my mom mentioned, ‘Lastly. Lastly,’ ” she mentioned. “I’ve wished to sing for thus lengthy. My mother teared up and we simply stored one another. We have been each so excited. My mother has all the time identified I may sing. There have been mild nudges through the years, so this was an enormous second.”
In July 2023, Tracee loved a lunch date with Diana. The mother-daughter duo, who look strikingly related, snapped a selfie collectively earlier than the meal was over.
Chudney Ross, 48
On Nov. 4, 1975, Diana and Silberstein welcomed daughter Chudney Ross (born Chudney Lane Silberstein).
Chudney earned an English and high quality arts diploma from Georgetown College, the place she was additionally on the rowing staff. She went on to show elementary faculty with AmeriCorps’ Train For America program for a number of years, per her LinkedIn. Like her large sisters, Chudney additionally dabbled within the leisure trade — she labored as a manufacturing supervisor on NBC’s actuality sequence Fame in 2003 and as a producer on Mesmerized in 2004.
In September 2012, Chudney welcomed daughter Callaway Lane Ross-Faulkner with then-boyfriend Joshua Faulkner, whom she married in June 2015. The 2 tied the knot in an outside ceremony surrounded by shut family and friends. In a dialog with Inside Weddings, Chudney shared why they picked Hawaii for his or her vacation spot marriage ceremony.
“Our first large journey collectively was to Maui; I realized I used to be pregnant whereas on a visit with my mom to Oahu; and we had our babymoon on Kauai,” she instructed the outlet.
Chudney and Faulkner welcomed their second youngster collectively, a daughter named Everlee Ernestine Ross-Faulkner, on Oct. 11, 2019.
In 2011, Chudney opened a kids’s bookstore and occasion area referred to as Books and Cookies in Santa Monica, California. She additionally channeled her ardour for youngsters’s literacy right into a ebook titled Lone Bean, revealed by HarperCollins in 2012.
In a 2020 interview with Veronica Beard, Chudney referred to Diana as “essentially the most superb position mannequin for what motherhood ought to seem like” and recalled the useful recommendation her mother gave her early on in her profession. “My mother taught us that something was potential with laborious work, dedication and keenness, and to by no means anticipate something to simply come to you,” Chudney mentioned. “She additionally inspired us to forge our personal paths and never comply with the steps of anybody else.”
Ross Arne Naess, 36
Named after his father, Ross Arne Naess is Diana’s older son, whom she welcomed with then-husband Arne Naess Jr. on Oct. 7, 1987. 4 years after Diana and Naess’ divorce in 2000, Arne died whereas mountain climbing, although Ross has inherited his father’s love of exploring the nice outside and his ardour for winter sports activities.
Ross proposed to his longtime girlfriend Kimberly Ryan in Could 2016, only one month earlier than they welcomed son Leif Naess on June 5, 2016.
The couple exchanged marriage ceremony vows on June 10, 2017, at Rancho Dos Pueblos in Santa Barbara, California, per Harper’s Bazaar. The bridesmaids, which included his sisters, donned off-white attire and flower crowns, whereas the groomsmen have been requested to decorate their marriage ceremony day look with a hat of their selection. Ross opted for a prime hat.
Diana officiated the out of doors, boho-themed marriage ceremony, and youthful brother Evan carried out throughout the couple’s first dance. Kimberly walked down the aisle in a white-and-gold robe, barefoot and 7 months pregnant. Shortly after, the newlyweds welcomed son Indigo Naess on Aug. 15, 2017.
Ross could be very shut along with his brother, Evan, and is grateful his two sons share the same brotherly bond. “Love you bro you are my rock. Enjoyable to see our kind of friendship on repeat Brother love,” Ross captioned a throwback photograph of him and Evan, as properly a shot of his two younger sons.
Evan Ross, 36
Evan Ross (born Evan Olav Ross-Naess) is the youngest of the Ross siblings. Diana and Arne welcomed him on Aug. 26, 1988. He has since change into a musician, actor, husband and father of three.
He’s identified for his roles within the 2006 movie ATL, CW’s 90210, The Starvation Video games and The USA vs. Billie Vacation.
Evan received engaged to Ashlee Simpson in January 2014. The pair wed in a bohemian-inspired ceremony held at Diana’s Connecticut property on Aug. 30, 2014. Diana officiated the nuptials and carried out on the reception. Simpson’s son Bronx Mowgli Wentz, whom she shares with ex-husband Pete Wentz, walked her down the aisle and her large sister, Jessica Simpson, served because the maid of honor.
On July 30, 2015, the pair welcomed their first youngster collectively, a daughter named Jagger Snow Ross. Diana was current for Jagger’s start, and actually, the proud grandma joined the couple within the supply room. “Whereas [Ashlee] was having the child, we mentioned we have been going to do it simply us, however then we noticed each our dad and mom backstage watching,” Evan recalled to ipromiseyoumedia. “Additionally, these nurses cannot cease my mother! Like, Diana Ross simply walks in.”
Evan and Simpson welcomed their second youngster, Ziggy Blu Ross, on Oct. 29, 2020.
Evan received candid about being a dad of three throughout a 2021 episode of the ipromiseyoumedia Each Day podcast, noting how “fortunate” he felt to have had further moments along with his children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. “What a bonding expertise with all of them. With Jagger, I really feel like there’s been plenty of studying experiences that I really feel like I’ll have missed just a little little bit of [otherwise],” he mentioned.
He and Simpson additionally produced and starred in their very own actuality TV sequence referred to as Ashlee + Evan, which premiered on E! in 2018. The sequence gave followers an inside look into their relationship and household life — together with cameos from their well-known members of the family and pals — in addition to a peek into their joint music profession.
“We’re very totally different, however we perceive one another and we glance out for one another,” Evan instructed ipromiseyoumedia whereas selling the present in 2018. “We all know find out how to work with one another to get by way of no matter we have to get by way of.”
Ashlee added, “We do not maintain onto issues, which is sweet too. I like to preserve that attraction half alive and enjoyable. However with Evan, I haven’t got to attempt. He is essentially the most good-looking, enjoyable particular person ever. He makes me really feel so nice about myself.”
