Jussie Smollett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jussie Smollett
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Smollett at the 2016 PaleyFest
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| Born | June 21, 1982 Santa Rosa, California, U.S.
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| Years active | 1991–1995; 2009–present |
| Relatives | Jurnee Smollett (sister) Jake Smollett (brother) |
Jussie Smollett (/ˈdʒʌsi sməlˈɛt/, born June 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1991 debuting in The Mighty Ducks (1992). From 2015 to 2019, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox drama series Empire.
Early life
Jussie Smollett was born in Santa Rosa, California, the son of Joel and Janet (née Harris) Smollett. He has three brothers and two sisters: Jake, Jocqui, Jojo, Jurnee, and Jazz, several of whom are also actors. Smollett is biracial. His mother is African-American, and his father is Jewish. He has said that his father would "kill you if you called him white". His father was absent from his life for a significant portion of his childhood. The family moved to the Elmhurst neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens when he was two years old, then to Los Angeles when he was about seven. Smollett graduated from Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey. When he was 19, Smollett told his parents he was gay.
Career
Smollett began his acting career as a child model in New York City and later worked as an extra on the New York-shot movies Mo' Better Blues (1990) and New Jack City (1991) He went on to act in the films The Mighty Ducks (1992) and Rob Reiner's North (1994). On television, he starred alongside his five real-life siblings in the short-lived ABC sitcom On Our Own in 1994–1995. In 2012, Smollett returned to acting with the leading role in Patrik-Ian Polk's LGBT-themed comedy-drama The Skinny. Also that year, he released an EP titled The Poisoned Hearts Club. He later guest-starred on The Mindy Project (2012) and Revenge (2014).
In 2014, Smollett was cast as Jamal Lyon—a gay musician struggling to gain the approval of his father Lucious—opposite Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard in the Fox drama series Empire. His role was hailed as groundbreaking for its positive depiction of a black gay man on television. Smollett reprised his role in subsequent seasons and directed an episode of the fourth season in 2017.
In February 2015, Smollett confirmed that he had signed a recording contract with Columbia Records and would be releasing an album in the future. Smollett co-wrote the songs "I Wanna Love You" and "You're So Beautiful" on the Original Soundtrack from Season 1 of Empire album, which was released in March 2015.
In June 2015, it was announced that Smollett would guest-star alongside his younger sister Jurnee in Underground, which aired in 2016. Smollett released his debut album, Sum of My Music, in March 2018. Sum of My Music is an R&B album that features elements of electronic music and hip hop. Smollett self-released it through his own label, Music of Sound.
On April 30, 2019, Fox Entertainment announced that though Smollett's contract had been extended for the sixth season of Empire, there were no plans for his character to appear during it.
Smollett directed B-Boy Blues, a movie based on the 1994 black gay novel by James Earl Hardy. The movie was released in November 2021.
Personal life
Smollett publicly came out as gay during a televised interview with Ellen DeGeneres in March 2015.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Mighty Ducks | Terry Hall | Nominated – Young Artist Award for Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture |
| 1994 | North | Adam | |
| 2009 | Pitch This | Mike | Short film |
| 2012 | The Skinny | Magnus | |
| 2014 | Born to Race: Fast Track | Tariq | Direct-to-video |
| Ask Me Anything | Nico Dempster | ||
| 2016 | The Tale of Four | John | Short film |
| 2017 | Alien: Covenant – Prologue: Last Supper | Ricks | Short film |
| Alien: Covenant | |||
| Marshall | Langston Hughes | ||
| 2021 | B-Boy Blues | Director and writer | |
| 2024 | The Lost Holliday | Jason Holliday | Director and co-writer (with Jerrell Chesney) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | A Little Piece of Heaven | Salem Bordeaux | Television film |
| 1993 | Alex Haley's Queen | Simon | Miniseries |
| 1993 | Coach | Billy | Episode: "Piece o' Cake" |
| 1993–1994 | Cro | Mike | Voice, 20 episodes |
| 1994–1995 | On Our Own | Jesse Jerrico | Series regular, 20 episodes |
| 2012 | The Mindy Project | Barry Stassen | Episode: "Josh and Mindy's Christmas Party" |
| 2014 | Revenge | Jamie | Episode: "Ashes" |
| 2015–2019 | Empire | Jamal Lyon | Series regular Nominated – BET Award for Best Actor Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Drama Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Breakout Star Directed season 4, episode 16 |
| 2016 | Underground | Josey | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Live! with Kelly | Himself | Guest host, six episodes |
| 2017 | Star | Jamal Lyon | Episode: "The Winner Takes it All" |
| 2018 | America Divided | Himself | Episode: "Whose History?" |
| 2023 | Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax | Himself | 5-part docuseries, aired on Fox Nation |
Music videos
| Year | Artist | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Mariah Carey | "Infinity" |
| 2016 | Jussie Smollett | "F.U.W." |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Awards | Category | Recipient | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Young Artist Award | Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | The Mighty Ducks | Nominated |
| 2015 | BET Awards | Best Actor | Empire | Nominated |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actor Drama | Nominated | ||
| Choice TV: Breakout Star | Nominated | |||
| Choice TV: Chemistry | Nominated | |||
| Choice Music: Song from a Movie or TV Show | "You're So Beautiful" | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Empire | Nominated |
| Outstanding New Artist | Won | |||
| Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration | Won | |||
| Outstanding Song (Contemporary) | Won |
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Heat. |
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| Sum of My Music |
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22 |
Extended plays
| Year | EP details |
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| 2012 | Poisoned Hearts Club
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Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US R&B /HH |
US R&B |
US Adult R&B |
FRA |
GER |
SWI |
AUT |
POR |
BUL |
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| "Good Enough" | 2015 | — | 33 | 13 | — | 60 | 25 | 55 | 54 | 2 | 40 |
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Empire: Original Soundtrack from Season 1 |
| "Keep Your Money" | 99 | 32 | 13 | — | 181 | 91 | — | — | — | — |
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| "No Apologies" (featuring Yazz) |
— | 44 | — | — | 195 | — | — | — | — | — |
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| "I Wanna Love You" | — | — | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Money For Nothing" (featuring Yazz) |
— | — | 23 | — | — | 94 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "You're so Beautiful" (featuring Yazz) |
47 | 18 | 10 | — | 79 | 42 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Conqueror" (featuring Estelle) |
42 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 157 | 87 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Nothing To Lose" | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Powerful" (featuring Alicia Keys) |
— | 36 | 10 | — | 152 | — | — | — | — | — | Empire: Original Soundtrack Season 2 Volume 1 | ||
| "Ain't About the Money" (featuring Yazz) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | |||
| "No Doubt About it" (featuring Pitbull) |
— | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Chasing the Sky" (featuring Terrence Howard & Yazz) |
2016 | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Empire: Original Soundtrack Season 2 Volume 2 | |
| "Good People" (featuring Yazz) |
— | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Need Freedom" | — | — | — | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Empire: Original Soundtrack Season 3 | ||
| "Freedom" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sum of My Music | |
| "Catch Your Eye" (featuring Swizz Beatz) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Hurt People" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Ha Ha (I Love You)" | — | — | — | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
See also
In Spanish: Jussie Smollett para niños
