Jurnee Smollett

Jurnee Smollett-Bell
Jurnee Smollett-Bell at the "Underground" panel during New York ComicCon, October 11, 2015
Born	Jurnee Diana Smollett (1986-10-01) October 1, 1986 (age 30) New York City, New York, United States
Other names	Jurnee Smollett
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991–present
Spouse(s)	Josiah Bell (m. 2010)
Children	1
Relatives	Jussie Smollett (brother) Jake Smollett (brother)

Jurnee Diana Smollett-Bell (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, with her most significant regular role being on On Our Own (1994–95). She received critical acclaim and Critic's Choice Award for playing title role in the 1997 independent drama film Eve's Bayou.

In adult age, Smollett-Bell has starred in films The Great Debaters (2007) and Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013). She also had starring roles on number of television series, include NBC sports drama Friday Night Lights (2009–2011), and HBO vampire drama True Blood (2013–2014). In 2016, Smollett-Bell began playing a leading role as Rosalee, the house slave, in the WGN America period drama Underground. Smollett-Bell has won three NAACP Image Awards.

Smollett-Bell was born Jurnee Diana Smollett in New York City, the daughter of Janet (née Harris) and Joel Smollett. 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.

Smollett-Bell began her acting career appearing in a recurring roles on the ABC family sitcoms include Full House and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper playing Denise Frazer. From 1994 to 1995, she co-starred with her siblings in the short-lived ABC sitcom On Our Own. In 1996, she appeared in the Francis Ford Coppola film Jack, making her big screen debut.