American actress Jurnee Smollett has been active in her acting career since 1991. The thirty-five years old actress has starred in a number of tv series as a series regular cast and in many movies as the main character.
Her siblings Jussie Smollett and Jake Smollett are also actors. She has two upcoming movies in her queue which are the courtroom drama ‘The Burial’ and the superhero movie ‘Black Canary’.
Following is the list of tv series and films in which Jurnee Smollett has starred.
On Our Own-
Number of Seasons: 1
American sitcom ‘On Our Own’ featured seven siblings of the Jerrico family as they spend their lives losing their parents through the hardships of the world.
Except for the eldest brother who is their guardian, the other six siblings are played by the real-life Smollett siblings including Jurnee Smollett as Jordee Jerrico. The series ran from September 13, 1994, to April 14, 1995, on ABC.
Eve’s Bayou (1997)-
Like ‘On Your Own, in this Southern Gothic movie too, Smollett starred as a child actress. Kasi Lemmons directed this movie that revolves around a ten years old girl Eve Batiste who witnesses her father having s*x with another woman which plants a series of doubts and trauma inside her.
Jurnee Smollett plays the role of Eve Batiste in the movie along with Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Meagan Good, and Debbi Morgan as other cast members. The film was released on November 7, 1997, in the United States.
Cosby-
Number of Seasons: 4
This CBS sitcom ‘Cosby’ is inspired by ‘One Foot in the Grave’, a British sitcom. It centers on an airline executive Hilton Lucas who has been forced to retire. In Season 3 Jurnee Smollett joined the cast as eleven years old Jurnee, a girl whom Hilton adores.
American actor and stand-up comedian Bill Cosby plays Hilton Lucas in the series, it being the last series in which Cosby starred. ‘Cosby’ ran from September 16, 1996, to April 28, 2000, on CBS.
The Great Debaters (2007)-
Based on Tony Scherman’s article in the quarterly magazine American Legacy about the Wiley College debate, this biographical movie is directed by Denzel Washington and revolves around a professor of the historically black Wiley College named Melvin B Tolson leading his students to form the college’s first-ever debate team which later in national championship defeats Harvard.
With Denzel Washington as Professor Tolson, Jurnee Smollett stars as Samantha Booke, a character who is loosely based on Henrietta Bell Wells, the first female member of Wiley College’s debate team. The movie was released on December 25, 2007, in the United States.
Wanda at Large-
Number of Seasons: 2
American sitcom ‘Wanda at Large’ is the first ever series to be created, written, produced, and starred by a black woman whose name is Wanda Sykes. The plot presents a stand-up comic Wanda Hawkins who also works for a political talk show.
It also features her sister-in-law, a widow named Jenny, and her niece and nephew Holly and Barris. Smollett plays the role of Holly Hawkins in the series along with Wanda Sykes as Wanda Hawkins. The series ran from March 26 to November 7 of 2003.
Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013)-
Tyler Perry’s romantic movie is based on the play of Perry- ‘The Marriage Counselor’. Jurnee Smollett stars as the lead character Judith, a therapist of a matchmaking agency, who begins a relationship with her client Harley but then gets affected by HIV. The movie was released on March 29, 2013, in the United States.
Friday Night Lights-
Number of Seasons: 5
Jurnee Smollett stars in this American sports drama series in the role of Jess Merriweather who is a student of East Dillon working at the restaurant of her father and possesses aspirations to become a football coach.
The series ran from October 3, 2006, to February 9, 2011.
The Defenders-
Number of Seasons: 1
This American legal comedy series is set in Las Vegas in Nevada and is loosely based on Michael Cristalli and Marc Saggese, two real-life lawyers of Vegas.
Jurnee Smollett plays the role of a young lawyer named Lisa Tyler here. It should be noted that this series is not related to the same named 1960s series of CBS. series ran from September 22, 2010, to March 11, 2011.
Birds of Prey (2020)-
In this Harley Quinn movie starred by Margot Robbie in the leading role, Smollett played the role of vigilante Dinah Lance aka Black Canary, a character from DC Comics who has the ability of hypersonic screams.
It was released on February 7, 2020, in the USA.
Also Read: Black Canary Spin-off Is In Development on HBO Max
True Blood-
Number of Seasons: 7
This HBO fantasy horror series is based on Charlaine Harris’ novel ‘The Southern Vampire’. Smollett joined the cast in season six in the role of Nicole Wright. It ran from September 7, 2008, to August 24, 2014.
Underground-
Number of Seasons: 2
This period drama about American heroes’ struggle for freedom stars Smollett as a sheltered house slave of a Macon plantation named Rosalee. The series ran from March 9, 2016, to May 10, 2017.
Spiderhead (2022)-
This sci-fi psychological thriller movie stars Smollett as Lizzy, an inmate of Jeff, starred by Miles Teller. The movie also casts Chris Hemsworth as the lead character. It was released on June 17, 2022, in the USA.
Lovecraft Country-
Number of Seasons: 1
This American horror series stars Smollett as Letitia Lewis, a skilled photographer, who along with her love interest Atticus and his uncle George embarks upon a journey of great danger to search for Atticus’ missing father.
The series ran from August 16 to October 18 of 2020.
