Jurnee Smollett-Bell Biography

Jurnee Diana Smollett-Bell (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress. She is known for the role of Jess Merriweather on the television series Friday Night Lights, as well as roles in the films Eve's Bayou and The Great Debaters.

Early life and career

Smollett was born Jurnee Diana Smollett in New York City, the daughter of Janet and Joel Smollett, a cable splicer. Her father is Jewish (his family immigrated from Russia and Poland) and her mother is of African-American, Native American, Creole, and Irish descent. The fourth of six performing siblings, she received critical acclaim for her performance as ten-year-old Eve in the independent film Eve's Bayou (1997). 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 co-starred with her siblings in the ABC television comedy On Our Own (1994"1995) and guest appeared in numerous television shows: Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Full House, Martin, Wanda At Large, House, Grey's Anatomy, etc. Smollett co-starred in the last two seasons of Friday Night Lights.

Smollett was featured in the 1996 Francis Ford Coppola film Jack. She starred in the racially charged 1999 Disney film Selma, Lord, Selma. In 2000, she co-starred with Sharon Stone (Smollett played daughter of Stone's Hush) and Billy Connelly in the comedy film Beautiful Joe. 2001 would find Jurnee co-starring as daughter to another popular actress, Angela Bassett, in the film Ruby's Bucket of Blood. Smollett co-starred with actors Bow Wow and Brandon T Jackson in the 2005 skater movie Roll Bounce. In 2006, she joined the film Gridiron Gang. In 2007 actor/director Denzel Washington cast Smollett in his starring/directorial vehicle The Great Debaters. The film was produced by Oprah Winfrey and Harvey Weinstein.

On March 17, 2009, she visited eKhaya Multi Arts Centre for Arts and Performance, KwaMashu, north of Durban, South Africa, where she led an exchange youth forum sharing her experiences with KwaMashu youth.

From September 2010 to March 2011 she co-starred with Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell in the CBS legal drama The Defenders.

In 2013 Smollett starred with Lance Gross and Brandy Norwood in Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. In January of the same year, it was announced that Smollett will be joining the cast of True Blood when the series' sixth season begin on June 16.

Personal life

Smollett has one sister, Jazz and four brothers: Jojo, Jussie, Jake and Jocqui. The Smollett siblings starred together on ABC's 1994-95 series On Our Own.

She has been active in HIV/AIDS causes since she was eleven. She spoke 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. Smollett is on the Board of Directors of Artists for a New South Africa, dedicated to dealing with HIV/AIDS in Africa. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Children's Defense Fund.

On October 24, 2010, Jurnee married musician Josiah Bell.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1991	Sunday in Paris	Alison Chase
1996	Jack	Phoebe
1997	Eve's Bayou	Eve Batiste
1999	Selma, Lord, Selma	Sheyann Webb
2000	Beautiful Joe	Vivien
2001	Ruby's Bucket of Blood	Emerald Delacroix	Made for television movie
2005	Roll Bounce	Tori
2006	Gridiron Gang	Danyelle Rollins
2007	The Great Debaters	Samantha Booke	NAACP Image Award for Best Actress
2013	Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor	Judith	Lead role

Television

Year	Series	Role	Other notes
1992	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Denise Frazer	3 episodes
	Martin	Little Girl	I Saw Gina Kissing Santa Claus
1992"1994	Full House	Denise Frazer	11 episodes
1995	On Our Own	Jordee Jerrico	7 episodes
1996	NYPD Blue	Hanna
1998"2000	Cosby	Jurnee	8 episodes
2002	Strong Medicine	Ruby	Positive
	ER	Romy	"Next of Kin"
2003	Wanda at Large	Holly Hawkins	4 episodes
2006	House M.D.	Tracy	Fools for Love
2007	Grey's Anatomy	Beth	Freedom (Grey's Anatomy)
2009-2011	Friday Night Lights	Jess Merriweather	26 episodes
2010-2011	The Defenders	Lisa Tyler
2012	The Mob Doctor	Traci Coolidge
2013	True Blood	Nicole Wright	Season 6, main cast
2013	Do No Harm	Ms. Young's Daughter	Season 1, guest star

Awards/nominations

• Black Reel Awards
  • 2006, Best Ensemble (Roll Bounce) Nominated
  • 2002, Best Supporting Actress- Network/Cable (Ruby's Bucket of Blood) Nominated

• 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