Eddie Murphy Recalls Meeting a 13-Year-Old Tracee Ellis Ross at One of Diana Ross’ Parties (Exclusive)

Eddie Murphy, Diana Ross and Tracee Ellis Ross.

Though Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross have both been working actors for years, they had never collaborated until making the new Christmas movie Candy Cane Lane.

Their paths, however, first crossed many years ago, Murphy, 62, revealed to PEOPLE in a paired interview with Ellis Ross.

After Ellis Ross, 51, declared to PEOPLE that the two had “never met” before working on the film, Murphy protested.

“I was in your house once. Your mother had a party at the house,” he said, referring to Ellis Ross’s mother, legendary singer and actress Diana Ross, 79.

“In Malibu?” Ellis Ross asked Murphy.

Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross in ‘Candy Cane Lane’

“Yeah. And y’all came in. I was with the grown people, though. You came in, you was a kid,” he recalled, prompting Ellis Ross to reply, “Eddie, you’re not that much older than me.”

“I’m old enough that I’m 12 years older than you,” he said.

“You’re 10 years older than me,” Ellis Ross corrected.

“That’s a big deal. This happened in the 80s,” Murphy remembered.

“So you were twenty-two,” Ellis Ross said.

“Twenty-four, twenty-five,” Murphy clarified.

“Okay, and I was 13,” Ellis Ross said, adding sarcastically, “He was Eddie Murphy and I was just a kid.”

“I remember saying, ‘Are these your daughters, Diana?'” said Murphy.

“So that’s actually hilarious. She used to have great parties,” replied Ellis Ross, who has sisters Rhonda, 52, Chudney, 48, as well as brothers Ross, 36, and Evan, 35.

“Yeah, it was a great party,” he said.

“I have no memory of meeting Eddie Murphy,” Ellis Ross finally admitted.

Thaddeus J. Mixson, Genneya Walton, Madison Thomas, Tracee Ellis Ross and Eddie Murphy in ‘Candy Cane Lane’.

Despite having no recollection of encountering Murphy nearly four decades ago, Ellis Ross was eager to work with him when she heard he’d be starring in Candy Cane Lane.

The whimsical movie tells the story of a competitive suburban dad, Chris Carver (Murphy), who is so eager to win his neighborhood’s holiday decorating competition, he makes a deal with a mischievous elf (Jillian Bell). Ellis Ross plays Chris’s wife Carol, who is instrumental in helping him get out of the mess he made.

“I read the script and I was like, ‘This is charming. This is very charming and really cute and I love the people,” Ellis Ross tells PEOPLE. “And there was magic, the element of magic. There’s special effects. And Eddie Murphy was in it. Eddie Murphy was in it, and Eddie Murphy was in it. And then because Eddie Murphy was in it, I was like, ‘This might be fun.’”

Ellis Ross says they hit it off on day one. “The first day of work, he said, ‘Hello,’ and he said my full name, ‘Tracee Ellis Ross.’ And that was it.”

Candy Cane Lane streams on Amazon Prime Video Friday.

source: people.com