Beautiful as ever at 55, Tracey Edmonds has been established for decades as a businesswoman, television producer, and personality, with successes all across the American entertainment industry.
She was born Tracey McQuarn in 1967 in Los Angeles, California to scholar parents and grew up in an upper middle class Black family. Academically gifted, she graduated high school at only 16. She initially wanted to pursue a career in medicine and studied pre-med at Stanford University, graduating with a degree in psychobiology.
To deal with hefty student loans, she began working as a broker, eventually earning enough money to open a real estate office with her mother. The partnership took them to Los Angeles, where she met and married R&B sensation Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.
With insight and suggestions from her then-husband, Edmonds was off and running in the music industry with her record label “Yab Yum Entertainment.” After acquiring a slew of successful artists in the mid-1990s, including Jon B., Diana Ross, Color Me Badd, and K-Ci & JoJo, Edmonds branched out into the film industry.
Since 1997, Edmonds has been the producer or executive producer of more than 25 films and television series. Films she has worked on include “Soul Food,” “Light It Up,” “Josie and the Pussycats,” and “Who’s Your Caddy.” “Soul Food” received 3.5 out of 4 stars from film critic Roger Ebert and went on to spawn its own follow-up television show, “Soul Food: The Series.” Another film Edmonds produced, “Jumping the Broom,” was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture and the BET Award for Best Movie.
Popular television series that Edmonds has executive produced include “College Hill” and its spinoffs, and the ongoing BET drama “Games People Play.”
Edmonds is also a former host of the television show “Extra.” While there, she earned an Emmy Award for co-hosting alongside Mario Lopez and Charissa Thompson.
Currently, Edmonds serves as the CEO of Edmonds Entertainment Group and Alrightnow.com, a family- and faith-oriented Web network. She is also on the national board of directors for the Producers Guild of America.