|  As one of the most powerful Black female executives in the entertainment industry, 32-year old Tracey Edmonds is Hollywood's newest media mogul bringing us one of the biggest African American box-office hits in recent years (Soul Food),. With her unique business style and savvy, she has the power and know how to Blacken Hollywood! Tracey Edmonds skipped a grade and was admitted to Stanford University at age 16. There she created her own major, by combining courses in psychology and human biology. It was Tracey's intent to become a psychiatrist. She graduated in 1987 and went into business with her mother, Jacqueline McQuarn, who had started a real estate agency. Married to Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Tracey is not one to be labeled the stereotypical celebrity spouse. Knowing exactly what she is capable of has helped her tune out the skeptics who give Babyface the credit for her success. Tracey does acknowledge that it was her relationship with Babyface that sparked her interest in the entertainment business. She met Babyface in 1990 when she and about 300 other women auditioned for the video for Babyface's hit song "Whip Appeal." On September 5, 1994, Tracey and Babyface were married in Los Angeles. A year after the wedding, Tracey decided it was time to change professions. Watching her husband write numerous songs and having spent time reading up on the entertainment industry, Tracey decided to find some talented young writers and publish their material. Yab Yum Music, her publishing company was born. As President and CEO of Edmonds entertainment Group, Inc. she has become a force in her own right, presiding over six subsidiary companies that span music, television and film. She runs a staff of about sixty and commands a budget of more than $5 million. Tracey stepped into the film arena in 1996 with a story about an extended family in Chicago, Soul Food. In October 1997, Edmonds Entertainment released the $6.5 million movie in association with Twentieth-Century Fox. The small budget flick went on to gross $43.4 million at the box office and win five NAACP Image Awards. Plus the soundtrack produced by Babyface went multi platinum. Tracey has several other films on her roster that are scheduled to be released, including Light It Up, a drama starring Usher and Vanessa L. Williams. Tracey feels no different from most women who juggle a myriad of roles from sun up to sundown. According to Tracey, "I think women have this inner strength where they just keep going. We're able to raise children, be career women and fulfill our dreams professionally and personally."
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