None of us are getting any younger, but that’s not stopping Tracee Ellis Ross from accepting, and in turn, not caring about her age.

The 49-year-old actress and tv personality recently opened up to Today about her 50th birthday, stating that she’s “very excited” to meet the middle-age milestone. And though Ross’s 50th birthday comes as no surprise, her effortless ability to be open about her personal life pays tribute to Black women not shying away from embracing their age, and is in fact, helping them to celebrate these pivotal milestones with grace and ease.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tracee Ellis Ross (@traceeellisross)

In today’s society, beauty standards have always been attached to the concept of “anti-aging” rather than embracing the beauty of aging. In her interview with Today, Ross stated “I’m very excited about it. I have always loved getting older. Like, I really have.” 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tracee Ellis Ross (@traceeellisross)

According to Hopkins Medicine, Perimenopause is “a natural process caused when your ovaries gradually stop working. Ovulation may become erratic and then stop. The menstrual cycle lengthens and flow may become irregular before your final period. Symptoms are caused by the changing levels of hormones in the body.”

Ross admitted to battling the side effects of perimenopause and how she now feels more “wiser” and “comfortable” in her skin.

“There’s certain things that are really strange. I am in perimenopause and hot flashes come up like a personal summer just entered from the inside,” she joked. “But I feel like I am wiser, I’m more comfortable in my skin,” she said in her interview.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tracee Ellis Ross (@traceeellisross)

Rather than fearing the concept of aging, Ross is combating fear with gratitude. “I wake up now, and, yes, I have built a beautiful life around me, but the most important part for me is how I feel on the inside,” she said. “That even on days when I’m uncomfortable, I have a tribe of friends around me that can love me when I can’t love myself. It’s really a gratifying place and time in my life.”