Jurnee Smollett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jurnee Smollett
Smollett in 2015
Born	Jurnee Diana Smollett (1986-10-01) October 1, 1986 (age 38) New York City, U.S.
Other names	Jurnee Smollett-Bell
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991–present
Spouse(s)	Josiah Bell ​ ​ (m. 2010; div. 2021)​
Children	1
Relatives	Jussie Smollett (brother) Jake Smollett (brother)

Jurnee Diana Smollett (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, including On Our Own (1994–1995) and Full House (1992–1994). She gained greater recognition with her role in the critically acclaimed Kasi Lemmons directed film Eve's Bayou (1997), which earned her a Critics' Choice Movie Award.

As an adult, Smollett has starred in the films The Great Debaters (2007), Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013), and Birds of Prey (2020). Her television roles include the NBC sports drama Friday Night Lights (2009–2011), the WGN America period drama Underground (2016–2017), and the HBO fantasy horror dramas True Blood (2013–2014) and Lovecraft Country (2020), receiving a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for the latter. In 2020, Smollett portrayed DC Comic superhero Dinah Lance / Black Canary in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) feature film Birds of Prey.

Early life

Jurnee Diana Smollett was born in New York City, to Janet Harris and Joel Smollett. Her father was Ashkenazi Jewish, with ancestors from Romania, Russia and Poland, while her mother is African American. She is the fourth of six siblings, all performers: one sister, Jazz Smollett, and four brothers, Jussie, JoJo, Jake, and Jocqui.

Career

Early works

Smollett began her acting career appearing on Martin and Out All Night in 1992. She then had recurring roles as Denise Frazer on the ABC family sitcoms Full House and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. From 1994 to 1995, she co-starred with her siblings in the short-lived ABC sitcom On Our Own. In 1996, she appeared in the Francis Ford Coppola film Jack, making her big-screen debut.

Smollett received critical acclaim for her performance as 10-year-old Eve in the 1997 film Eve's Bayou opposite Lynn Whitfield, Samuel L. Jackson and Debbi Morgan. In casting the role, writer-director Kasi Lemmons envisioned "a light-skinned black child who could convey the nuances of a Creole child in the 60s." She received the Critic's Choice Award and was nominated for a NAACP Image Award. The following year, she joined the cast of the CBS sitcom Cosby, for which she won two NAACP Image Awards. In 1999, Smollett starred in the ABC TV film Selma, Lord, Selma. In 2000, she co-starred with Sharon Stone and Billy Connolly in the film Beautiful Joe. In 2001, she played the daughter of Angela Bassett in the television film Ruby's Bucket of Blood. In 2005, she co-starred with Bow Wow and Brandon T. Jackson in the roller skating film Roll Bounce. In 2006, she appeared in the drama film Gridiron Gang.

2007–2012

In 2007, Smollett portrayed Samantha Booke (loosely based on Henrietta Bell Wells), the sole female debater at Wiley College in the historical film The Great Debaters. The film was produced by Oprah Winfrey and Harvey Weinstein and starred Denzel Washington, who also directed the feature. For her performance, Smollett received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture. The following year, she returned to television, appearing in two episodes of ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy. From 2009 to 2011, she was a regular cast member in the DirecTV drama series Friday Night Lights playing Jess Merriweather. From 2010 to 2011, she also co-starred with Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell on the short-lived CBS legal drama The Defenders.

2013–present

Jurnee Smollett and Julianne Moore at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018

In 2013, Smollett played the leading role in the drama film Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor directed by Tyler Perry. The film received negative reviews from critics, but was a box-office hit, grossing $53,125,354. It is the highest-grossing Tyler Perry film which the writer-director did not star in, and the highest-grossing Tyler Perry drama. From 2013 to 2014, she was a regular on the HBO series True Blood. She later played Juanita Leonard, the wife of boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, in the 2016 biographical sport film Hands of Stone co-starring with Usher and Robert De Niro.

In 2015, Smollett was cast as lead character in the WGN America period drama series Underground. Smollett played Rosalee, a shy house slave working on a plantation in 1857. She portrayed Black Canary in the 2020 film Birds of Prey, and Letitia "Leti" Lewis in the 2020 HBO series Lovecraft Country. In August 2021, it was revealed that Smollett will star in a solo Black Canary Movie from Warner Bros. and DC Films at HBO Max. In November 2021, she joined Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones in Amazon Studios' courtroom drama project The Burial directed by Maggie Betts. In 2022, she executive produced and co-starred in the Netflix thriller film, Lou.

Personal life

Smollett has been active in HIV/AIDS causes since she was 11. Her first encounter with the disease came at age seven when a crew member of On Our Own died of AIDS. She was inspired by the HIV/AIDS survivor Hydeia Broadbent, with whom she eventually worked for HIV/AIDS awareness, including for the Black AIDS Institute and Red Cross. She spoke at the Ryan White Youth Conference, and is on the Board of Directors of Artists for a New South Africa, an organization dedicated to HIV/AIDS in Africa. Smollett is also on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Defense Fund.

On October 24, 2010, Smollett married musician Josiah Bell. Their first child, a son named Hunter, was born on October 31, 2016. In March 2020, Smollett filed for divorce, which was finalized in August 2021.

She has two siblings who are also actors: Jake Smollett and Jussie Smollett.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1996	Jack	Phoebe
1997	Eve's Bayou	Eve Batiste
2000	Beautiful Joe	Vivien
2005	Roll Bounce	Tori Turner
2006	Gridiron Gang	Danyelle Rollins
2007	Great Debaters, TheThe Great Debaters	Samantha Booke
2012	Captain Planet 4	Gaia	Short film
2013	Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor	Judith
2016	Hands of Stone	Juanita Leonard
2018	One Last Thing	Lucy Dillinger
2020	Birds of Prey	Dinah Laurel Lance / Black Canary
2022	Spiderhead	Lizzy
	Lou	Hannah Dawson
2023	We Grown Now	Dolores	Post-production; Also executive producer
	The Burial	Mame Downes
2024	The Order		Filming

Television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1992	Out All Night	Laquita	Episode: "The Kid"
1992–1994	Full House	Denise Frazer	12 episodes
1992	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Denise Frazer	4 episodes
1992	Martin	Little Girl	Episode: "I Saw Gina Kissing Santa Claus"
1994–1995	On Our Own	Jordee Jerrico	Series regular (20 episodes)
1996	NYPD Blue	Hanna	Episode: "Where's 'Swaldo"
1998–2000	Cosby	Jurnee	Series regular (8 episodes)
1999	Selma, Lord, Selma	Sheyann Webb	Television film
1999	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Ali Baba	Voice, episode: "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"
2001	Ruby's Bucket of Blood	Emerald Delacroix	Television film
2002	Strong Medicine	Ruby	Episode: "Positive"
2002	ER	Romy	Episode: "Next of Kin"
2003	Wanda at Large	Holly Hawkins	Series regular (6 episodes)
2006	House	Tracy	Episode: "Fools for Love"
2008	Grey's Anatomy	Beth	2 episodes
2009–2011	Friday Night Lights	Jess Merriweather	Series regular (26 episodes)
2010–2011	Defenders, TheThe Defenders	Lisa Tyler	Series regular (18 episodes)
2012–2013	Mob Doctor, TheThe Mob Doctor	Traci Coolidge	2 episodes
2013–2014	True Blood	Nicole Wright	Series regular (19 episodes)
2013	Do No Harm	Abby Young	2 episodes
2013	Parenthood	Heather Hall	7 episodes
2016–2017	Underground	Rosalee	Series regular (19 episodes)
2017–2018	Sofia the First	Chrysta	Voice, recurring role (8 episodes)
2020	Twilight Zone, TheThe Twilight Zone	Jasmine Delancey	Episode: "Ovation"
2020	Lovecraft Country	Letitia "Leti" Lewis	Series regular (10 episodes)
TBA	Firebug	Michelle	Upcoming miniseries

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Jurnee Smollett para niños In Spanish: Jurnee Smollett para niños