Jurnee Smollett

Fun Facts: Jurnee has five siblings that sing and dance. They were all featured on ABC’s “On Our Own.”

Claim to Fame: Smolett is best known for her chilling performance in “Eve’s Bayou” (1997). Most recently she was featured as the only female member of the debate team in “The Great Debaters” (2007), directed by Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey.

Jurnee Diana Smollett is an American actress.


Smollett was born in New York City, 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 drama Eve's Bayou. The performance earned her a Young Star Award nomination. The young thespian pulled ahead of her brothers and sisters with her bracing portrayal of a ten-year-old who finds her father in a compromising position. She was just what writer-director Kasi Lemmons had envisioned for the lead in her film: "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 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 and Ruby's Bucket of Blood. In 2007, she played the role of Samantha Booke in The Great Debaters. On the 17th March 2009 she visited Ekhaya Multi Arts Centre, Kwa Mashu Township, north of Durban, South Africa where she led an inspiring exchange youth forum sharing her experiences with Kwa Mashu youth.

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