Jurnee Smollett

Jurnee Diana Smollett (born October 1, 1986)^[1] 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 Kasi Lemmons's independent film Eve's Bayou (1997), which earned her a Critics' Choice Movie Award.

Jurnee Smollett
Smollett in 2024
Born	Jurnee Diana Smollett (1986-10-01) October 1, 1986 (age 37) New York City, U.S.
Other names	Jurnee Smollett-Bell
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991–present
Spouse	Josiah Bell ​ ​ (m. 2010; div. 2021)​
Children	1
Relatives	Jussie Smollett (brother) Jake Smollett (brother)

As an adult, Smollett 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 horrors 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.

Early life

Jurnee Diana Smollett was born in New York City,^[2] to Janet Harris and Joel Smollett. Her father was Ashkenazi Jewish, with ancestors from Russia and Poland,^[3][4][5] while her mother is African American.^[6][7][8] She is the fourth of six siblings, all performers:^[9] one sister, Jazz Smollett,^[10] 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.^[11] 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.^[11]

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.^[12][13] 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."^[9] She received the Critic's Choice Award and was nominated for a NAACP Image Award.^{[citation needed]} The following year, she joined the cast of the CBS sitcom Cosby, for which she won two NAACP Image Awards.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[14]

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.^[15] 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.^[16] From 2013 to 2014, she was a regular on the HBO series True Blood.^[17] 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.^[18][19]

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.^[20] She portrayed Black Canary in the 2020 film Birds of Prey,^[21][22] and Letitia "Leti" Lewis in the 2020 HBO series Lovecraft Country.^[23] 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.^[24] In November 2021, she joined Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones in Amazon Studios' courtroom drama project The Burial directed by Maggie Betts.^[25] In 2022, she executive produced and co-starred in the Netflix thriller film, Lou.^[26]

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.^[27] 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.^[28] Smollett was also on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Defense Fund in 2020.^[29]

On October 24, 2010, Smollett married musician Josiah Bell.^[30] Their only child, a son named Hunter, was born on October 31, 2016, as a surprise given the two were living in separate homes and considering divorce.^[31] In March 2020, Smollett filed for divorce after years of being legally separated,^[32] which was finalized in August 2021.^[33]

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	The Great Debaters	Samantha Booke
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	Joanne Carney[34]

Television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1992	Out All Night	Laquita	Episode: "The Kid"
	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Denise Frazer	4 episodes
	Martin	Little Girl	Episode: "I Saw Gina Kissing Santa Claus"
1992–1994	Full House	Denise Frazer	12 episodes
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
	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"
	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	The Defenders	Lisa Tyler	Series regular (18 episodes)
2012–2013	The Mob Doctor	Traci Coolidge	2 episodes
2013	Do No Harm	Abby Young	2 episodes
	Parenthood	Heather Hall	7 episodes
2013–2014	True Blood	Nicole Wright	Series regular (19 episodes)
2016–2017	Underground	Rosalee	Series regular (19 episodes)
2017–2018	Sofia the First	Chrysta	Voice, recurring role (8 episodes)
2020	The Twilight Zone	Jasmine Delancey	Episode: "Ovation"
	Lovecraft Country	Letitia "Leti" Lewis	Series regular (10 episodes)
TBA	Firebug †	Michelle	Upcoming miniseries

Awards and nominations

Association	Year	Category	Work	Result
Audie Awards	2010	Audiobook of the Year	Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales	Won
		Multi-Voiced Performance		Won
Black Reel Awards	1999	Best Supporting Actress: Television Movie/Cable	Selma, Lord, Selma	Nominated
	2001	Best Supporting Actress: Television Movie/Cable	Ruby's Bucket of Blood	Nominated
	2017	Best Actress, Drama Series	Underground	Nominated
	2024	Outstanding Supporting Performance	The Burial	Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards	1997	Best Young Performer	Eve's Bayou	Won
Critics' Choice Super Awards	2021	Best Actress in a Superhero Movie	Birds of Prey	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Horror Series	Lovecraft Country	Won
Critics' Choice Television Awards	2021	Best Actress in a Drama Series	Lovecraft Country	Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association	1997	Most Promising Actress	Eve's Bayou	Nominated
IGN Awards	2020	Best Movie Ensemble	Birds of Prey	Nominated
MTV Movie & TV Awards	2021	Most Frightened Performance	Lovecraft Country	Nominated
		Best Fight	Birds of Prey	Nominated
NAACP Image Awards	1997	Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress	Eve's Bayou	Nominated
	1999		Cosby	Won
	2000			Won
	2008	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	The Great Debaters	Won
	2010	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Friday Night Lights	Nominated
	2017	Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series	Underground	Nominated
	2018			Nominated
	2021		Lovecraft Country	Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards	2021	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Lovecraft Country	Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society	1997	Best Supporting Actress	Eve's Bayou	Won
Saturn Awards	2021	Best Supporting Actress in a Film	Birds of Prey	Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards	2021	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Lovecraft Country	Nominated
Teen Choice Awards	2008	Choice Movie Breakout Female	The Great Debaters	Nominated
Young Artist Awards	1995	Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten in a TV Series	On Our Own	Nominated
	1997	Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film	Eve's Bayou	Nominated
YoungStar Awards	1998	Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film	Eve's Bayou	Nominated

References

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External links

• Jurnee Smollett at IMDb