Jussie Smollett (/ˈdʒʌsisməlˈɛt/, born June 21, 1982)[1] is an American actor, filmmaker and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1991 debuting inThe Mighty Ducks (1992). From 2015 to 2019, Smollett portrayed musicianJamal Lyon in theFox drama seriesEmpire.
In January 2019, Smollett claimed to have been a victim of a hate crime, but police later determined thathe had staged the attack with two acquaintances. He was initially charged with filing a false police report, but charges were dropped after he completed community service and forfeited $10,000. In 2020, a special prosecutor re-indicted him, and he was convicted on five counts in December 2021. He was sentenced to jail in March 2022, although his release was ordered after six days. The sentence was upheld on appeal in 2023, but the Illinois Supreme Court later reversed the conviction in 2024 on the basis that he had fulfilled the plea agreement made in 2019.
Early life
Jussie Smollett was born inSanta Rosa, California,[2] to Joel and Janet (née Harris) Smollett.[3] His mother is African-American and Irish, and his father is Jewish.[4][5] Smollett isbiracial[6] and Jewish.[7] He has said that his father would "kill you if you called himwhite". His father was absent from his life for a significant portion of his childhood.[8] He has three brothers and two sisters:Jake, Jocqui, Jojo,Jurnee, and Jazz, several of whom are also actors.[3] The family moved to theElmhurst neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens when he was two years old, then to Los Angeles when he was about seven.[2]
Smollett talking in a 2018 interview onSister Circle
Smollett began his acting career as a child model in New York City and later worked as anextra on the New York-shot moviesMo' Better Blues (1990) andNew Jack City (1991)[2] He went on to act in the filmsThe Mighty Ducks (1992) andRob Reiner'sNorth (1994). On television, he starred alongside his five real-life siblings in the short-livedABC sitcomOn Our Own in 1994–1995.[10] In 2012, he returned to acting with the leading role inPatrik-Ian Polk'sLGBT-themed comedy-dramaThe Skinny.[11] Also that year, he released anEP titledThe Poisoned Hearts Club.[3][12] He later guest-starred onThe Mindy Project (2012) andRevenge (2014).[8]
In 2014, Smollett was cast asJamal Lyon—a gay musician struggling to gain the approval of his fatherLucious—oppositeTaraji P. Henson andTerrence Howard in theFox drama seriesEmpire.[13][14][15] His role was hailed as groundbreaking for its positive depiction of a black gay man on television.[16] He reprised his role in subsequent seasons[17] and directed an episode of the fourth season in 2017.[18] His character was removed from the final two episodes of season five because of the assault controversy.[19][20]
In 2016, Smollett guest-starred alongside his younger sisterJurnee inUnderground.[23] He released his debut album,Sum of My Music, in March 2018, through his own label, Music of Sound.[24][25]Sum of My Music is an R&B album that features elements ofelectronic music andhip hop.[citation needed]
On April 30, 2019,Fox Entertainment announced that though Smollett's contract had been extended for the sixth season ofEmpire, there were no plans for his character to appear during it.[19][26]
Smollett directedB-Boy Blues, a movie based on the 1994 black gay novel byJames Earl Hardy. The movie was released in November 2021.[27]
On January 29, 2019, Smollett told police that he had been physically attacked outside his apartment building along with the use ofracial andhomophobic slurs.[28][29][30][31] He was treated atNorthwestern Memorial Hospital and was released "in good condition" later that morning.[28][32][33][34][35] A subsequent police investigation found that he had paid two work acquaintances, who were also brothers, to stage the assault.[36][37]
On February 20, 2019, Smollett was charged by agrand jury with a class 4felony forfiling a false police report.[38][39][40][41][42] On March 26, 2019, all charges were dropped.[43][44] First Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Magats said the office reached a deal with Smollett's defense team in which prosecutors dropped the charges upon Smollett completing 16 hours ofcommunity service[45][46][47] and forfeiting his $10,000bond.[48][49][50] On April 12, 2019, the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit in theCircuit Court of Cook County against Smollett for the costs, totaling $130,105.15, of overtime authorities expended investigating the hoax.[51][52][53][54] In November 2019, Smollett filed acountersuit against the city of Chicago, alleging he was the victim of "mass public ridicule and harm" and arguing he should not be made to reimburse the city for the cost of the investigation.[55]
After the charges were dropped, allegations of favoritism and leniency were made against the prosecutor,Kim Foxx. In June 2019, Foxx asked the state to conduct an independent inquiry by a special investigator.[56] On February 11, 2020, after further investigation by a special prosecutor was completed, Smollett was indicted again by aCook Countygrand jury on six counts of felony disorderly conduct about making four false police reports.[57][53] On June 12, 2020, a judge rejected Smollett's claim that his February charge violated the principle ofdouble jeopardy.[58] His trial began in November 2021, and on December 9 he was found guilty of five of the six counts.[59]
On March 10, 2022, Smollett was sentenced to serve 150 days in county jail and two and a half years on probation. He was also ordered to make restitution to the city of Chicago of just over $120,000 and fined $25,000.[60][61] His lawyers filed a notice of appeal the following day.[62] On March 16, 2022, an Illinois appeals court ordered that Smollett be released from jail, upon his posting of a $150,000personal recognizance bond, pending the outcome of the appeal of his conviction.[63][64][65] On March 1, 2023, Smollett's attorney filed an appeal of his 150-day sentence related to the felony disorderly conduct conviction in his hate crime hoax.[66][67] The court, on December 1, 2023, upheld the conviction.[68] On November 21, 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed Smollett's conviction, holding that retrying him after he had paid $10,000 and served community service in exchange for dismissal of all charges violated his constitutionaldue process rights.[69]
Personal life
Smollett publiclycame out as gay during a televised interview withEllen DeGeneres in March 2015.[8][70][71] When his gay character fromEmpire engaged in a tryst with a female character, Smollett defended the plot development by stating that he andEmpire's co-creatorLee Daniels were trying to create a conversation aboutsexual fluidity in the gay community. While Daniels and Smollett are gay, Daniels has stated that are occasionally attracted to women.[A][72] On June 20, 2025, Smollett announced that he was engaged to Jabari Redd.[73]
In 2007, Smollettpleaded no contest to threemisdemeanor counts providingfalse information to law enforcement resulting from aDUI stop in which he gave police a false name pretending to be his brother.[74][75] He also pleaded no contest to driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit and driving without a validdriver's license and was sentenced to a fine and three years of probation.[74][76]
^”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. [Laughs] Maybe once every 10 or 15 years, but it happens! And there are a lot of people who don't want to hear about that. It's such a complicated conversation. It's not necessarily the body one is attracted to. You can be sexually attracted to the spirit, the energy, the life force in another person. We're showing life on Empire, and I won't apologize for it.”
^"Good Enough" did not enter theBillboardHot 100 chart, but peaked at number 6 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[97]
^"No Apologies" did not enter theBillboardHot 100 chart, but peaked at number 23 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[97]
^"I Wanna Love You" did not enter theBillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 7 on the Bubbling Under Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[99]
^"Money For Nothing" did not enter theBillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 9 on the Bubbling Under Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[99]
^"Nothing To Lose" did not enter theBillboardHot 100 chart, but peaked at number 21 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[97]
^"Powerful" did not enter theBillboardHot 100 chart, but peaked at number 12 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[97]
^"Chasing the Sky" did not enter theBillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 2 on the Bubbling Under Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[99]
^"Good People" did not enter theBillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 3 on the Bubbling Under Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[99]
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