Actress Tracee Ellis Ross and her Jewish dad, music producer and entrepreneur Robert “Bob” Ellis, are truly adorable together. Unfortunately, as so many of us have experienced, the pandemic has kept this funny Jewish duo apart. (The Black-ish star claims her excellent sense of humor is inherited from her dad.)
That is, until this very week! Now that Ross and her father are both vaccinated, they finally reunited — and magnanimously documented the moving moment on Instagram for all of us to see.
Ross went to pick up her dad at his apartment building in Manhattan, and the two went together for a walk in Central Park.
In a video she shared on her Instagram, Ross, 48, films her dad as he giddily steps out of the building’s front entrance, sunglasses on and a phone in his hand, coyly waving at his daughter.
You can hear her off-camera, exclaiming, “Is that my father? Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, here I come!”
“You just gotta get used to me,” you hear her telling her dad — who seems disoriented with joy — a few moments later.
“I just have to get used to you, I haven’t seen you in so long,” Ellis replies, brimming with excitement and emotion.
“My god, you don’t change!” he exclaims. (Um, agreed! Ross doesn’t seem to age and just seems to get more glamorous as time goes by.)
Ross retorts that her father, too, does not seem to change (Instagram evidence from the past few years seems to confirm this, more below!), and takes his hand. It’s moving to see these two hold each other’s hands for the first time in over a year.
The video then cuts to some adorable selfies the two took together in Central Park. These two really make our hearts feel full.
Ross also confirmed that the pair did hug (“Oh what a hug that was,” she wrote on Instagram), but despite the fact that they both got their shots, they remained masked.
If you’ve been following Ross on Instagram, you know that this moment is especially meaningful for her. Throughout the pandemic, Ross has been posting photos of the two, hoping for a reunion.
While Ross’ parents divorced when she was a very young child, she feels equally close to both her dad and her uber famous mom, Diana Ross — which is why she chose to go by both of their last names professionally.
“I’m my mom’s daughter, but I’m also very much my dad’s daughter. And I wanted him, when my name hit a screen, to know that I was also part of him. And so Tracee Ellis Ross it is,” she told W Magazine.
Back in January, Ross posted an adoring Instagram message for her father’s 75th birthday, which included a slideshow of pictures and videos of the two throughout the years.
“I know you didn’t want me to tell everyone [about your age],” she wrote, “But you are the most vibrant and joyful human I know and I love being your daughter. I love you soooo much and I can’t wait to hug you and laugh with you in person as soon as it’s safe.”
We’re thrilled these two are safely together at last, and we can’t wait for more Bob and Tracee videos. Keep them coming!
Photo by Billy Farrell/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
