Jurnee Smollett
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| Jurnee Smollett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jurnee Diana Smollett October 1, 1986 New York City, New York, USA |
| Occupation | actress |
Jurnee Diana Smollett (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Smollett was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of Janet and Joel Smollett.[1] 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. The young thespian pulled ahead of her brothers and sisters with her bracing portrayal of a ten-year-old who finds her father (Samuel L. Jackson) in a compromising position. She was just what writer-director Kasi Lemmons had envisoned for the lead in her film: "a light-skinned black child . . . who could convey the nuances of a Creole child in the 60s".
Smollett has three brothers and two sisters, all of whom are actors:
- Jazz Smollett
- Jocqui Smollett
- Jake Smollett
- Jojo Smollett
- Jussie Smollett
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.
Jurnee 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).
Outside of acting she has been active in HIV/AIDS involved causes since she was twelve.[2] 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.[3] She is also on the Board of Directors of "Artists for a New South Africa"[4] a group dedicated to dealing with the HIV/AIDS in Africa.
[edit] 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
- Image Awards
- 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
- 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
