Jurnee Smollett-Bell

Jurnee Smollett-Bell
File:Jurnee Smollett Bell cropped.JPG Jurnee Smollett-Bell at the "Underground" panel during New York ComicCon, October 11, 2015
Born	Jurnee Diana Smollett (1986-10-01) October 1, 1986 New York, New York, U.S.
Other names	Jurnee Smollett
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991–present
Spouse(s)	Josiah Bell (m. 2010)

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 (1997), The Great Debaters (2007), Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013), and the TV series True Blood. She also portrayed Michelle Tanner's friend Denise on the sitcom Full House.

Early life

Smollett-Bell was born Jurnee Diana Smollett in New York City, the daughter of Janet and Joel Smollett, a cable splicer. Her father was Jewish (his family immigrated from Russia and Poland), and her mother is African American. She is the fourth of six performing siblings, one sister, Jazz, and four brothers: Jussie, JoJo, Jake, and Jocqui.

Career

Smollett-Bell co-starred with her siblings on the ABC sitcom On Our Own (1994–95), and made appearances on shows, such as Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Full House, Martin, Wanda At Large, House, and Grey's Anatomy.

In 1996, she appeared in the Francis Ford Coppola film Jack. She received critical acclaim for her performance as 10-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."

In 1999, she starred in the racially charged Disney film Selma, Lord, Selma. In 2000, she co-starred with Sharon Stone and Billy Connolly in the film Beautiful Joe. In 2001, she was the daughter of Angela Bassett in the film Ruby's Bucket of Blood. In 2005, she co-starred with actors Bow Wow and Brandon T. Jackson in the roller skating movie Roll Bounce.

In 2006, she appeared in the film Gridiron Gang. In 2007, Smollett-Bell portrayed the character Samantha Booke, the sole female debater at Wiley College in the historical film The Great Debaters. The film was produced by Oprah Winfrey and Harvey Weinstein and starred Denzel Washington, who also directed the feature.

On March 17, 2009, she visited eKhaya Multi Arts Centre for Arts and Performance in 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 on the CBS legal drama The Defenders. She co-starred on the last two seasons of Friday Night Lights.

In 2013, she 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 she would be joining the cast of True Blood when the series' sixth season began on June 16.

In 2015, she began shooting the Sony WGN America TV series Underground in Louisiana, starring opposite Chris Meloni. Smollett-Bell plays Rosalee, a "shy house slave, working on a plantation in 1857".

Personal life

Smollett-Bell has been active in HIV/AIDS causes since she was 11. She spoke at the Ryan White Youth Conference. Her first encounter with the disease came at age seven when a crew member of On Our Own died of AIDS. Smollett-Bell is on the Board of Directors of Artists for a New South Africa, an organization dedicated to HIV/AIDS in Africa. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Defense Fund.

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

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Sunday in Paris	Alison Chase	Short film
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
2015	Hands of Stone	Juanita Leonard

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Out All Night	Laquita	Episode: "The Kid"
1992–1994	Full House	Denise Frazer	13 episodes
1992	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Denise Frazer	4 episodes
1992	Martin	Little Girl	Episode: "I Saw Gina Kissing Santa Claus"
1994–1995	On Our Own	Jordee Jerrico	20 episodes
1996	NYPD Blue	Hanna	Episode: "Where's 'Swaldo"
1998–2000	Cosby	Jurnee	8 episodes
1999	Selma, Lord, Selma	Sheyann Webb	TV movie
1999	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Ali Baba	Episode: "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"
2001	Ruby's Bucket of Blood	Emerald Delacroix	Movie
2002	Strong Medicine	Ruby	Episode: "Positive"
2002	ER	Romy	Episode: "Next of Kin"
2003	Wanda at Large	Holly Hawkins	4 episodes
2006	House	Tracy	Episode: "Fools for Love"
2008	Grey's Anatomy	Beth	2 episodes
2009–2011	Friday Night Lights	Jess Merriweather	25 episodes
2010–2011	The Defenders	Lisa Tyler	18 episodes
2012, 2013	The Mob Doctor	Traci Coolidge	2 episodes
2013–2014	True Blood	Nicole Wright	17 episodes
2013	Do No Harm	Ms. Young's Daughter	2 episodes
2013	Parenthood	Heather Hall	7 episodes
2016	Underground	Rosalee	Upcoming series; episode 1: "The Macon 7"

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
1995	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance by an Actress Under 10 in a TV Series	On Our Own	Nominated
1997	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Young Performance	Eve's Bayou	Won
1997	San Diego Film Critics Society	Best Supporting Actress	Eve's Bayou	Won
1997	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actress	Eve's Bayou	Nominated
2008	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	The Great Debaters	Won
2008	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie: Breakout Female	The Great Debaters	Nominated
2010	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Friday Night Lights	Nominated

External links

• Jurnee Smollett-Bell at the Internet Movie Database