Jussie Smollett | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Smollett at the 2016 PaleyFest | |
| Born | Jussie Smollett June 21, 1982 Santa Rosa, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, singer-songwriter, producer |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Known for | Jamal Lyon on Empire |
| Relatives | Jake Smollett (brother) Jurnee Smollett-Bell (sister) |
Jussie Smollett (born June 21, 1982) is an American actor, singer and photographer. He began his career as a child actor in 1987 starring in commercials and films, including The Mighty Ducks (1992) and Rob Reiner's North (1994). In 2015, Smollett attracted international attention and received rave reviews for his portrayal of musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox music-industry primetime TV drama Empire. Smollett has also appeared in Ridley Scott's science fiction film Alien: Covenant as Ricks.
Early life
Smollett was born in Santa Rosa, California, and is the son of Janet (née Harris) and Joel Smollett.[1] He has three brothers and two sisters: Jake, Jocqui, Jojo, Jurnee, and Jazz, several of whom are also actors.[2] His father was Jewish (his family emigrated from Russia and Poland). His mother is African-American.[3]
Career
Smollett began his acting career as a child, co-starring in the films The Mighty Ducks (1992) and Rob Reiner's North (1994). On television, he starred alongside his five real-life siblings in the short-lived ABC sitcom On Our Own from 1994–95.[4]
In 2012, Smollett returned to acting with the leading role in the LGBT-themed comedy-drama The Skinny.[5] He later guest-starred on The Mindy Project and Revenge. In 2014, Smollett was cast as Jamal Lyon—a gay musician who struggles to gain his father's approval—opposite Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard in the Fox primetime drama Empire.[6][7][8]
Smollett is also a singer-songwriter; in 2012, he released an EP album, The Poisoned Hearts Club.[2][9] In February 2015, he confirmed that he had signed a recording contract with Columbia Records and would be releasing an album in the future.[10] Smollett co-wrote the songs "I Wanna Love You" and "You're So Beautiful" on the Original Soundtrack from Season 1 of Empire album, which was released in March 2015.[11]
In June 2015, it was announced that Smollett will guest-star alongside his younger sister Jurnee Smollett in her upcoming TV show Underground set to air in 2016.[12]
Smollett was a rotating guest co-host with Kelly Ripa on Live with Kelly.
Personal life
Smollett subtly revealed he is gay during a televised interview with Ellen DeGeneres in March 2015.[13][14]
In a 2016 interview with Out Magazine, Smollett clarified his sexual orientation by stating "If I had to label myself, I would label myself as a gay man." However, he stated his belief that openness to love is more important than gender, revealing that "If I fall in love down the road with a woman, I’m going to love that woman.”[15] When Smollett's gay character Jamal Lyon from Empire engaged in a heterosexual tryst with a female character, Smollett defended the plot development by stating that he and Empire creator Lee Daniels were trying to create a conversation about sexual fluidity in the gay community. Daniels has stated that “Jussie and I both share the same feeling that, yes, even though we are gay, we’re sexual human beings. And we do occasionally want to sleep with a woman." Daniels stated that "We’re showing life on Empire", in that both he and Smollett were incorporating their own sexual fluidity as gay men into Empire.[16]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | A Little Piece of Heaven | Salem Bordeaux | Television film |
| 1992 | The Mighty Ducks | Terry Hall | Nominated — Young Artist Award for Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture |
| 1994 | North | Adam | |
| 2009 | Pitch This | Mike | Short film |
| 2012 | The Skinny | Magnus | |
| 2014 | Born to Race: Fast Track | Tariq | Direct-to-video |
| Ask Me Anything | Nico Dempster | ||
| 2017 | Alien: Covenant - Prologue: Last Supper | Ricks | [17] |
| Alien: Covenant | |||
| Marshall | Langston Hughes |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Alex Haley's Queen | Simon | Miniseries |
| 1993 | Coach | Billy | Episode: "Piece o' Cake" |
| 1993–94 | Cro | Mike | Voice, 20 episodes |
| 1994–95 | On Our Own | Jesse Jerrico | Series regular, 20 episodes |
| 2012 | The Mindy Project | Barry Stassen | Episode: "Josh and Mindy's Christmas Party" |
| 2014 | Revenge | Jamie | Episode: "Ashes" |
| 2015–present | Empire | Jamal Lyon | Series regular Nominated—BET Award for Best Actor Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Drama Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Breakout Star |
| 2016–17 | Underground | Josey | |
| 2016 | Live! with Kelly | Himself | Guest host, 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Star | Jamal Lyon | Episode: "The Winner Takes it All" |
Music videos
| Year | Artist | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Mariah Carey | "Infinity" |
| 2016 | Jussie Smollett | "F.U.W." |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Awards | Category | Recipient | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Young Artist Award | Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | The Mighty Ducks | Nominated |
| 2015 | BET Awards | Best Actor | Empire | Nominated |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actor Drama | Nominated | ||
| Choice TV: Breakout Star | Nominated | |||
| Choice TV: Chemistry | Nominated | |||
| Choice Music: Song from a Movie or TV Show | "You're So Beautiful" | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | NAACP Image Awards[18] | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Empire | Nominated |
| Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration | "You're So Beautiful" | Won | ||
| Outstanding Song | Won | |||
| Outstanding New Artist | Jussie Smollett | Won | ||
| 2017 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Won | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actor Drama | Empire | Pending |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [19] |
US R&B/HH [20] |
US R&B [21] |
FRA [22] |
GER [23] |
SWI [24] |
AUT [25] |
POR | BUL | ||||
| "Good Enough" | 2015 | 106[26] | 33 | 13 | 60 | 25 | 55 | 54 | 2[27] | 40[28] | 83,000[29] | Empire Season 1 OST |
| "Keep Your Money" | 99 | 32 | 13 | 181 | 91 | — | — | — | — | 54,000[29] | ||
| "No Apologies" (featuring Yazz) |
123[30] | 44 | — | 195 | — | — | — | — | — | 53,000[29] | ||
| "You're so Beautiful" (featuring Yazz) |
47 | 18 | 10 | 79 | 42 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Conqueror" (featuring Estelle) |
42 | 15 | 8 | 157 | 87 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Powerful" (featuring Alicia Keys) |
— | 36 | 10 | 152 | — | — | — | — | — | Empire Season 2 Volume 1 | ||
| "Ain't About the Money" (featuring Yazz) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 39[31] | |||
| "No Doubt About it" (featuring Pitbull) |
— | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Chasing the Sky" (featuring Terrence Howard & Yazz) |
2016 | — | 52[32] | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Empire Season 2 Volume 2 | |
| "Good People" (featuring Yazz) |
— | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Wanna Love You" | — | 57[33] | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
References
- ^ "Jussie Smollett: 'I was NOT born in Brazil!!'". Good Day New York. February 13, 2015. 00:11 minutes in. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
I was born in northern California. ...[An unspecified source] says Brazil, makes me look really, really exotic and, like, cultured, but actually I was born in Santa Rosa, California.
((cite news)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) Note: TV Guide erroneously gives Santa Rosa, Brazil. - ^ a b "Jussie Smollett". TVGuide.com. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
- ^ Garmel, Marion (1994-09-06). "You're never on your own in a big family". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2011-03-20. (abstract only)
- ^ "The '94 TV Season: Who's New and Who's Back". Ebony. 49 (12). Johnson Publishing Company: 27. October 1994. ISSN 0012-9011.
- ^ "Fall in Love with Jussie Smollett". The David Bridgeforth Quarterly Magazine. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Goldberg, Lesley (January 26, 2014). "Taraji P. Henson Nabs Female Lead in Fox's Lee Daniels Hip-Hop Drama 'Empire'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Kay, Ariel (January 7, 2015). "Who Is Jamal on 'Empire'? Jussie Smollett Was in Your Favorite '90s Movies & Is Back on Your New Favorite Show". Bustle.com. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ^ Thompson, Arienne (March 3, 2015). "Malik Yoba denies outing 'Empire' co-star as gay". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Jussie Smollett's Debut EP CD". RandomTandem.com. March 9, 2012. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "'Empire' star Jussie Smollett discusses Jamal's coming-out". Entertainment Weekly. February 26, 2015. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Review: Jussie Smollett Wears Crown on 'Empire' Soundtrack". Associated Press. March 10, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ Gelman, Vlada; Gelman, Vlada (24 June 2015). "Empire's Jussie Smollett Heads Underground Opposite Sister Jurnee Smollett-Bell".
- ^ Portwood, Jerry (March 9, 2015). "Empire's Jussie Smollett Comes Out to Ellen". Out. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ D’Addario, Daniel (March 9, 2015). "'Empire': Why Star Jussie Smollett's Coming-Out Matters". Time. Archived from the original on March 9, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Jussie Smollett on How a Black Gay Man Can Save the World". Out Magazine. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- ^ "Empire Sex Scandal: Lee Daniels and Jussie Smollett Defend That Shocking Hook-Up". TV Insider. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- ^ Alien: Covenant | Prologue: Last Supper | 20th Century FOX
- ^ "Recording - 'Creed,' 'Empire' Top NAACP Image Award Nominations; Full List".
- ^ "Empire Cast - Chart history - Billboard".
- ^ "Empire Cast - Chart history - Billboard".
- ^ "Empire Cast - Chart history - Billboard".
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "lescharts.com - Discographie Jussie Smollett". Retrieved 18 March 2017.
- ^ "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts".
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Jussie Smollett - hitparade.ch".
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Jussie Smollett - austriancharts.at".
- ^ "Chart Search - Billboard".
- ^ "Conqueror by Empire Cast featuring Estelle and Jussie Smollett - Music Charts".
- ^ "Good Enough by Empire Cast and Jussie Smollett - Music Charts".
- ^ a b c "Why Isn't 'Empire's' Music Topping the Billboard Charts?".
- ^ "Chart Search - Billboard".
- ^ "Ain't About The Money by Empire Cast featuring Jussie Smollett and Yazz - Music Charts".
- ^ "Chart Search - Billboard".
- ^ "Chart Search - Billboard".
External links
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| National | |
| Artists | |
