Diana Ross’ 5 Children Are All Grown Up—Here’s What They’re Doing Now and How They Honor Her Legacy
Plus, see the sweet things they've said about what a great mom she is!
From her trailblazing success with the Supremes in the ’60s to her many solo hits in the ’70s and ’80s, Diana Ross is one of the ultimate divas, and she remains fabulous as ever at 81. Over the course of an impressive six decades and counting in the spotlight, the singer has also found time to raise five children, and her three daughters and two sons have forged diverse paths as singers, actors, business owners and more.
Read on to meet Ross’ kids, including stars like Tracee Ellis Ross and Evan Ross, and see how they’ve followed (or, in some cases, haven’t followed!) in their famous mom’s footsteps.
Rhonda Ross Kendrick: From soap star to singer
Rhonda Ross Kendrick, born Rhonda Suzanne Silberstein in 1971, is Ross’ first child. Her father, Berry Gordy, is the founder of Motown Records, and signed the Supremes to the iconic label. Ross dated Gordy from 1965 to 1970, and after their breakup, she married music executive Robert Ellis Silberstein early in her pregnancy. Silberstein raised Rhonda, and when she was 13, she learned that Gordy was her biological father. Ross and Silberstein divorced in 1977.
Rhonda became an actress, and was in the cast of the soap opera Another World from 1997 to 1999. In 1998, she played the wife of the lead singer of the Temptations in the miniseries based on the group (her famous mom and dad were also portrayed in the series, making her casting quite meta). Her other acting credits include the films Franchesca Page (1998), Personals (1999), Crackdown Big City Blues (2018) and Limestone Gumption (2023).
Rhonda married jazz pianist Rodney Kendrick in 1997, and the couple released an album, Rhonda Ross Live Featuring Rodney Kendrick, in 2004. Their son was born in 2009. Rhonda’s second album, In Case You Didn’t Know, came out in 2016. She has performed with her mom, and was the opening act for her 2013 tour. She and her husband also contributed to Ross’ 2021 album Thank You. Outside of acting and music, she has worked as a real estate agent and motivational speaker.
Reflecting on having a musical icon for a mom, Rhonda said, “I think my experience is very different than a lot of children of celebrities. I didn’t feel pressured to go in or not to go in. My mother has been an incredible mother . . . in the midst of her gigantic career and the gigantic shadow that she cast from her persona and her legacy, she was able to raise us to believe that we didn’t have to hide in it. She taught us that we had value as human beings and we could achieve anything we wanted to achieve whether it was in the arts or not in the arts. I never felt that I had to be a singer because of her. I never felt that I shouldn’t because of her. I never felt that my singing had to be like hers. I think my stage presence is different, my songs are different.”
Tracee Ellis Ross: An A-list TV actress and businesswoman
Tracee Ellis Ross, born Tracee Joy Silberstein to Ross and Silberstein in 1972, is an accomplished actress. She had her breakout role as the star of the sitcom Girlfriends, which ran from 2000 to 2008. She then starred in another popular sitcom, Black-ish (2014 to 2022), as well as its spinoff Mixed-ish (2019 to 2021), which she cocreated.
Tracee has also appeared in films like the 2020 comedy The High Note (in which she made her debut as a singer), Cold Copy, American Fiction and Candy Cane Lane (all 2023). She can most recently be seen in the latest season of the sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror. The star has also made her mark behind the camera, producing the 2022 docuseries The Hair Tales as well as Black-ish and Mixed-ish.
In 2018, Tracee founded Pattern, a haircare line for women of color. A percentage of proceeds from sales of the hair products goes towards charitable causes. She recently shared that her brand was inspired by advice her mom gave her when she was 12, saying, “She walked into my room and said, ‘Listen here, little girl. You’re either going to get a really good job or a really rich husband because the hair products alone are going to break the bank. So, I built a hair company.”
The actress and entrepreneur has been candid about her decision not to marry or have kids, saying, “The heartbreak does come up, and I get to hold that gently and lovingly and then remind myself, ‘I woke up every morning of my life and I’ve tried to do my best, so I must be where I’m supposed to be.” This month, she’s debuting Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross, a Roku show about the joys of traveling as a single woman.
As the most famous of Ross’ five children, Tracee has always been open about the strong influence her mom has had on her, and she told Glamour, “The Diana Ross we all know kind of doesn’t hold a candle to the mom that I have, in her extraordinary ability to love . . . My mom holds her family and a career and nourishes both things . . . I don’t think my mom needed to make a concerted effort to, for example, ‘ground her children.’ I think my mom’s moral compass and sense of priority—that family is first—and her gift has given her family the opportunity to have the life that we’ve had.”
Chudney Ross: Advocating for education and avoiding the spotlight
Chudney Ross was born Chudney Lane Silberstein to Ross and Silberstein in 1975. While she dabbled in the entertainment industry and worked as a producer, assistant production manager and talent coordinator on a few TV projects in the ’00s, she has mostly stayed out of the spotlight, and spent many years as an elementary school teacher.
In 2011, Chudney opened Books and Cookies, a children’s book store turned mobile literacy enrichment program in California. She also wrote a children’s book of her own, Lone Bean, in 2012.
Chudney married Joshua Faulkner in 2015 and the couple has two daughters, both of whom are charmingly featured as part of the team on Books and Cookies’ website.
Chudney has cited her mom as a major inspiration, saying, “My mom is the most amazing role model for what motherhood should look like. From her, I learned the importance of being present, loving, supportive and giving of myself wholly” and, “My mom taught us that anything was possible with hard work, determination and passion, and to never expect anything to just come to you. She also encouraged us to forge our own paths and not follow the steps of anyone else.”
Ross Naess: A California nightlife pro
Ross Naess, the diva’s first son with her second husband, Norwegian businessman Arne Naess Jr. (to whom she was married from 1986 to 2000), was born in 1987. For obvious reasons, Ross doesn’t use Ross as his last name like his older half-sisters.
Ross is the owner of Warwick, a nightclub in L.A., and the Hideaway, a Mexican restaurant in Beverly Hills. He married Kimberly Ryan in 2016, and they have two sons.
Ross has said, “Growing up with someone as accomplished as my mom, you learn that anything is possible if you’re willing to work hard and believe in yourself.”
Evan Ross: An actor-musician in a famous couple
Evan Ross, Ross and Naess’ youngest son, was born Evan Olav Ross-Naess in 1988. He is an actor and musician, best known for his role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1 and Part 2 (2014 and 2015). He has appeared in films like ATL (2006), According to Greta (2009), Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011) and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).
Evan also had recurring roles in the 90210 reboot from 2010 to 2011 and the music industry drama Star from 2017 to 2019, and was in the cast of the short-lived ’80s-set procedural Wicked City (2015).
Evan married singer (and sister of Jessica Simpson) Ashlee Simspon in 2014. They have a daughter and a son, and in 2018 the high-profile couple starred in Ashlee+Evan, a reality show focused on their family life. They’ve also performed as a musical duo and released an EP shortly before their reality show premiered.
Talking about his mom in an interview with People, Evan said, “Her whole thing is love. My mom doesn’t do things for any other reason other than love. And I would never speak for her, but I know that for a fact. It’s never about money . . . It’s about love. My mother’s like, she cares about her children, she cares about her grandchildren. She cares about people in general. And she’s beautiful. That’s about it.”
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