*Tracee Ellis Ross had the crowd buzzing at the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Summit in New York City on July 15, when she revealed a rather unexpected packing habit: she only brings two pairs of underwear on trips.
As PEOPLE reports, the Black-ish actress, 52, shared her minimalist vacation essentials while speaking at the annual event. “There’s always one bathing suit, a flip flop and one little dress I can roll up. And there’s always two undies,” she said on stage.
Editor-in-Chief Jacqui Gifford pressed for clarity: “Two undies, that’s it?” Ross explained her practical approach, which includes washing underwear in the hotel sink using shower gel or bar soap. One sink serves as a washer, the other for rinsing, followed by hanging them on the towel rack to dry.
Days later, Ross addressed the online chatter via Instagram: “This is hilarious. I pack two pairs in my carry-on… in case my luggage doesn’t make it.” She added that packing more isn’t always feasible: “If I’m gone for a month on this trip, you can’t pack a month’s worth of underwear. How do you do that? They take up a lot of space.”
Ross attended the summit to promote her upcoming Roku series “Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross,” which premieres July 25. She’s both the host and executive producer of the travel show.
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Tracee Ellis Ross shows how she washes and dries her panties and bras after revealing she only packs two pairs of panties when she travels. pic.twitter.com/sKmwHyTupH
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) July 18, 2025
“I’m a solo traveling broad and I want y’all to come with me as I explore!” she wrote on Instagram. “And when I say explore I mean wear my pretty clothes, eat yummy food, dive into art & culture, and get into hotel pools.”
She hopes the series inspires confidence and freedom: “I hope this show reminds all of us that we can live our lives courageously on our own terms and be our best selves, by ourselves, out in the world.”
Ross, who remains single, continues to be candid about the highs and lows of that journey. In a conversation on Michelle Obama’s IMO podcast, she reflected on the quiet sorrow of not having children or a partner.
“As much grief does surface for me around not having children and not having a partner… I still wouldn’t want the wrong partner,” she said. “You have to make my life better, it can’t just be I’m in a relationship just to be in a relationship.”
Despite that, she expressed gratitude for the life she’s built: “I’ve built a really beautiful experience around me. And I have incredible friends,” she said, emphasizing the strength, pride, and independence she’s cultivated over the years.
