Name : Jurnee Smollett
Birth Name : Jurnee Diana Smollett
Date of Birth : Wednesday October 1 1986
Birth Place : New York (New York)
Height : 5' 6" (1.68 m)
Nationality : American
Occupation : Actress
Years active : 1991—present
brother Jojo Smollett : born on August 28, 1977
sister Jazz Smollett : born on April 1, 1980
brother Jussie Smollett : born on June 21, 1982
brother Jake Smollett : born on July 29, 1989
brother Jocqui Smollett : born c. 1993
BIOGRAPHY
Jurnee Smollett is an American actress. She was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of Janet and Joel Smollett. The fourth of six performing siblings, she received critical acclaim for her title role in the finely crafted independent Eve's Bayou (1997). The performance earned her a Young Star Award nomination.
She co-starred with her siblings in the television comedy On Our Own (1994-1995) and appeared in numerous television shows such as Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and Full House in which she played Michelle Tanner's young friend Denise. From 1998 to 2000, she appeared as a regular cast member of the Bill Cosby series titled Cosby. She also played as a regular in Wanda at Large as Wanda Sykes' niece Holly in 2003, in the episode 'Fools for Love' as the character "Tracey" on House, in The Great Debaters, and most recently as Beth, a terminally ill girl who undergoes a clinical trial to successful results in the episode Freedom on the popular Abc drama Grey's Anatomy.
Smollett starred with Bow Wow in the 2005 film Roll Bounce. She played the role of Danyelle Rollins in the 2006 film Gridiron Gang, and also played leading roles in the racial drama Selma, Lord, Selma, as well as Beautiful Joe (alongside Sharon Stone and Billy Connolly) and Ruby's Bucket of Blood. In 2007, she played the role of Samantha Booke in The Great Debaters (which was directed by Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey).
Smollett has also been active in HIV/AIDS involved causes since she was twelve. She has spoken at the Ryan White Youth Conference, and elsewhere, on this issue. Her first encounter with the disease came at age seven when a crew member of "On Our Own" died of AIDS. She is also on the Board of Directors of the group Artists for a New South Africa, dedicated to dealing with HIV/AIDS in Africa.
CAREER
Smollett was born in New York City, the daughter of Joel and Janet Smollett . The fourth of six performing siblings, she received critical acclaim for playing a ten-year-old who finds her father (Samuel L. Jacks) in a compromising position in the independent drama Eve's Bayou (1997). The performance earned her a Young Star Award nomination. In casting the role, writer-director Kasi Lemmons had envisioned "a light-skinned black child … who could convey the nuances of a Creole child in the 60s."
She co-starred with her siblings in the television comedy On Our Own (1994–1995) and appeared in numerous television shows such as Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and Full House in which she played Michelle Tanner's young friend Denise. From 1998 to 2000, she appeared as a regular cast member of the Bill Cosby series titled Cosby. She also played as a regular in Wanda at Large as Wanda Sykes' niece Holly in 2003, in the episode "Fools for Love" as the character "Tracey" on House, in The Great Debaters, and most recently as Beth, a terminally ill girl who undergoes a clinical trial to successful results in the episode "Freedom" on the popular ABC drama Grey's Anatomy.
Smollett starred with Bow Wow in the 2005 film Roll Bounce. She played the role of Danyelle Rollins in the 2006 film Gridiron Gang, and also played leading roles in the racial drama Selma, Lord, Selma as well as Beautiful Joe (alongside Sharon Stone and Billy Connolly) and Ruby's Bucket of Blood. In 2007, she played the role of Samantha Booke in The Great Debaters (which was directed by Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey).
On March 17, 2009, she visited Ekhaya Multi Arts Centre, Kwa Mashu Township, north of Durban, South Africa where she led an exchange youth forum sharing her experiences with Kwa Mashu youth.
Smollett had a role in the most recent season of Friday Night Lights. She is currently co-starring in the new CBS legal drama The Defenders.
MOVIES LIST
Gridiron Gang (2006)
Sunday in Paris (1991)
Jack (1996)
Eve's Bayou (1997)
Selma, Lord, Selma (1999)
Beautiful Joe (2000)
Ruby's Bucket of Blood (2001)
Roll Bounce (2005)
The Great Debaters (2007)
TELEVISION SHOWS
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992)
Martin (1992)
Full House (1992-1994)
On Our Own (1995)
NYPD Blue (1996)
Cosby (1998-2000)
Strong Medicine (2002)
ER (2002)
Wanda at Large (2003)
House M.D. (2006)
Grey's Anatomy (2008)
Friday Night Lights (2009)
The Defenders (2010)
Awards & Nominations
Black Reel Awards
2006, Best Ensemble (Roll Bounce) Nominated
2002, Best Supporting Actress- Network/Cable (Ruby's Bucket of Blood) Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics Awards
1998, Best Child Performance (Eve's Bayou) Winner
BET J Virtual Awards
2008, Best Actress (The Great Debaters) Nominated
Image Awards
2010, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series- ("Friday Night Lights")- Nominated
2008, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture- (The Great Debaters) Winner
2000, Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress- (Cosby) Winner
1999, Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress- (Cosby) Winner
1998, Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress- (Eve's Bayou) Nominated
Teen Choice Awards
2008, Choice Movie: Breakout Female (The Great Debaters), Nominated
Young Artist Awards
1998, Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress- (Eve's Bayou) Nominated
1995, Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten in a TV Series- "On Our Own" Nominated
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