Jussie Smollett

Early life

Jussie Smollett was born in Santa Rosa, California, to Joel and Janet () Smollett. His mother is African-American and Irish, and his father is Jewish. Smollett is biracial and Jewish. He has said that his father would "kill you if you called him white". His father was absent from his life for a significant portion of his childhood. The family moved to the Elmhurst neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens when he was two years old, then to Los Angeles when he was about seven.

Smollett attended Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey. When he was 19, Smollett told his parents he was gay.

Career

Smollett began his acting career as a child model in New York City and later worked as an extra on the New York-shot movies Mo' Better Blues (1990) and New Jack City (1991) In 2012, he returned to acting with the leading role in Patrik-Ian Polk's LGBT-themed comedy-drama The Skinny. Also that year, he released an EP titled The Poisoned Hearts Club. He later guest-starred on The Mindy Project (2012) and Revenge (2014).

In 2014, Smollett was cast as Jamal Lyon—a gay musician struggling to gain the approval of his father Lucious—opposite Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard in the Fox drama series Empire. His role was hailed as groundbreaking for its positive depiction of a black gay man on television. He reprised his role in subsequent seasons and directed an episode of the fourth season in 2017. His character was removed from the final two episodes of season five because of the assault controversy.

In February 2015, Smollett signed a recording contract with Columbia Records. He 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.

In 2016, Smollett guest-starred alongside his younger sister Jurnee in Underground. He released his debut album, Sum of My Music, in March 2018, through his own label, Music of Sound. Sum of My Music is an R&B album that features elements of electronic music and hip hop.

On April 30, 2019, Fox Entertainment announced that though Smollett's contract had been extended for the sixth season of Empire, there were no plans for his character to appear during it.

Smollett directed B-Boy Blues, a movie based on the 1994 black gay novel by James Earl Hardy. The movie was released in November 2021.

2019 hate crime hoax

Main article: Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax

On January 29, 2019, Smollett told police that he had been physically attacked outside his apartment building, along with the use of racial and homophobic slurs. He was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and was released "in good condition" later that morning. A subsequent police investigation found that he had paid two work acquaintances, who were also brothers, to stage the assault.

On February 20, 2019, Smollett was charged by a grand jury with a class 4 felony for filing a false police report. On March 26, 2019, all charges were dropped. 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 of community service and forfeiting his $10,000 bond. On April 12, 2019, the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County against Smollett for the costs, totaling $130,105.15, of overtime authorities expended investigating the hoax. In November 2019, Smollett filed a countersuit 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.

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. On February 11, 2020, after further investigation by a special prosecutor was completed, Smollett was indicted again by a Cook County grand jury on six counts of felony disorderly conduct about making four false police reports. On June 12, 2020, a judge rejected Smollett's claim that his February charge violated the principle of double jeopardy. His trial began in November 2021, and on December 9, he was found guilty of five of the six counts.

On March 10, 2022, Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in county jail and 2.5 years on probation. He was also ordered to pay the city of Chicago just over $120,000 in restitution and was fined $25,000. His lawyers filed a notice of appeal the following day. On March 16, 2022, an Illinois appeals court ordered that Smollett be released from jail, upon his posting of a $150,000 personal recognizance bond, pending the outcome of the appeal of his conviction. 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. The court, on December 1, 2023, upheld the conviction. 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 constitutional due process rights.

Personal life

Smollett publicly came out as gay during a televised interview with Ellen DeGeneres in March 2015. When his gay character from Empire engaged in a tryst with a female character, Smollett defended the plot development by stating that he and Empires co-creator Lee Daniels were trying to create a conversation about sexual fluidity in the gay community. While Daniels and Smollett are gay, Daniels has stated that they are occasionally attracted to women. On June 20, 2025, Smollett announced that he was engaged to Jabari Redd.

In 2007, Smollett pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor counts providing false evidence to law enforcement, resulting from a DUI stop in which he gave police a false name pretending to be his brother. He also pleaded no contest to driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit and driving without a valid driver's license and was sentenced to a fine and three years of probation.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Notes

References

References

1. (June 15, 2020). "Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 21–27". ABC News.
2. (February 13, 2015). "Jussie Smollett: 'I was NOT born in Brazil!!'". [[Good Day New York]].
3. (February 24, 2019). "Black Jewish actor Jussie Smollett violently assaulted". [[The Jerusalem Post]].
4. (March 26, 2013). "Jurnee Smollett-Bell and the 'Temptation' interview".
5. Williams, Angela. (April 8, 2016). "Jussie Smollett Talks About Growing Up in a Biracial Home and Pranking His 'Empire' Costars". [[ABC News (United States).
6. (December 10, 2021). "Jussie Smollett convicted of staging racist attack against himself, lying to police: Gay, black, Jewish actor guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct, a felony, for incident in Chicago three years ago; lost gig on 'Empire' over hoax". [[The Times of Israel]].
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9. "Fall in Love with Jussie Smollett". DBQ Magazine.
10. (March 9, 2012). "Jussie Smollett's Debut EP CD". Random Tandem.
11. Goldberg, Lesley. (January 26, 2014). "Taraji P. Henson Nabs Female Lead in Fox's Lee Daniels Hip-Hop Drama 'Empire'". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
12. 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".
13. Thompson, Arienne. (March 3, 2015). "Malik Yoba denies outing 'Empire' co-star as gay". [[USA Today]].
14. "Being Gay And Black On TV Will Never Be The Same". BuzzFeed.
15. Wagmeister, Elizabeth. (January 11, 2017). "'Empire' Renewed for Fourth Season at Fox".
16. "Empire Season 4: A Prince Homage and Jussie Smollett's Directorial Debut". [[E! News]].
17. Savitsky, Sasha. (February 22, 2019). "Jussie Smollett's 'Empire' role cut from season's final episodes, creators say". [[Fox News]].
18. (February 26, 2015). "'Empire' star Jussie Smollett discusses Jamal's coming-out".
19. (March 10, 2015). "Review: Jussie Smollett Wears Crown on 'Empire' Soundtrack". The New York Times.
20. (June 24, 2015). "Empire's Jussie Smollett Heads Underground Opposite Sister Jurnee Smollett-Bell". [[TVLine]].
21. Frederick, Brittany. (April 12, 2018). "Review: 'Empire' star Jussie Smollett delivers solid debut album". [[AXS TV]].
22. Lamarre, Carl. (June 6, 2018). "Jussie Smollett on His New Album 'Sum of My Music' & Taking Ownership of His Life: 'I've Never Sold Myself to Anybody'".
23. (April 30, 2019). "Jussie Smollett will not return to 'Empire' for next season". [[Associated Press News]].
24. "'Empire' renewed at Fox, Jussie Smollett unlikely to return". [[NBC News]].
25. (November 22, 2021). "Jussie Smollett unveils film directorial debut 'B-Boy Blues' (video)".
26. Gonzalez, Sandra. (January 29, 2019). "''Empire'' star Jussie Smollett attacked in possible hate crime". [[CNN]].
27. (January 29, 2019). "Chicago Police Department Original Case Incident Report". [[WLS-TV]].
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30. Otterson, Joe. (January 29, 2019). "''Empire'' Star Jussie Smollett Assaulted in Chicago in Suspected Hate Crime".
31. Penrose, Nerisha. (January 29, 2019). "''Empire'' Actor Jussie Smollett Hospitalized Following Racist, Homophobic Attack".
32. (February 1, 2019). "Detectives piecing together 'digital puzzle' as they investigate report of attack on ''Empire'' actor Jussie Smollett". [[Chicago Tribune]].
33. (January 30, 2019). "Surveillance video shows two 'people of interest' in alleged assault against ''Empire'' actor Jussie Smollett, police say". [[The Washington Post]].
34. (March 16, 2022). "Jussie Smollett walks out of jail after lawyers win appeal motion for his release". USA Today.
35. (March 16, 2022). "Jussie Smollett Released From Jail on Order of Appellate Court". The New York Times.
36. Deb, Sopan. (February 20, 2019). "Jussie Smollett Faces Felony Charge, Accused of Faking Own Assault". The New York Times.
37. (February 20, 2019). "Actor Jussie Smollett charged with felony for allegedly filing a false police report". [[CNN]].
38. Estrella, Cicero. (February 20, 2019). "Jussie Smollett goes from victim to suspect over alleged hate-crime attack". [[The Mercury News]].
39. (February 21, 2019). "Smollett dragged 'Chicago's reputation through the mud': CPD Supt.Johnson". [[Chicago Sun-Times]].
40. Cowen, Trace William. (February 21, 2019). "Jussie Smollett Arrested by Chicago Police for 'Publicity Stunt' to Further His Career".
41. (March 26, 2019). "Cook County prosecutors drop all charges against ''Empire'' actor Jussie Smollett". [[Chicago Tribune]].
42. De Mar, Charlie. (March 26, 2019). "Jussie Smollett Charges Dropped; 'His Record Has Been Wiped Clean'". [[WBBM-TV]].
43. (March 27, 2019). "Why prosecutors dismissed the charges against Jussie Smollett". The Washington Post.
44. (March 26, 2019). "Jussie Smollett's Community Service Was with Jesse Jackson's Org.".
45. "Charges Dropped Against Jussie Smollett After Actor Forfeits $10,000 Bail, Completes 16 Hours Of Community Service".
46. (March 26, 2019). "Jussie Smollett's Charges Are Dropped, Angering Mayor and Police". The New York Times.
47. McCarthy, Tyler. (March 26, 2019). "Jussie Smollett won't be prosecuted on charges he faked attack". [[Fox News]].
48. Madhani, Aamer. (March 26, 2019). "Charges dropped against 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett". [[USA Today]].
49. (April 12, 2019). "Jussie Smollett update: City sues 'Empire' actor for cost of investigating alleged staged attack".
50. Maddaus, Gene. (April 4, 2019). "Chicago to Sue Jussie Smollett After He Refuses to Pay Investigation Costs".
51. Jacobs, Julia. (February 11, 2020). "Jussie Smollett Indicted Again in Attack That Police Called a Hoax". [[The New York Times]].
52. Reinstein, Julia. (March 28, 2019). "The FBI Is Looking Into Why Charges Against Jussie Smollett Were Dropped". Buzzfeed News.
53. (November 20, 2019). "Jussie Smollett files countersuit against Chicago claiming malicious prosecution". CBS News.
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55. (February 11, 2020). "Jussie Smollett indicted by grand jury on six counts for making false reports, special prosecutor says". [[CNN]].
56. Haas, Mariah. (June 12, 2020). "Jussie Smollett's double jeopardy claim tossed out by judge". Fox News.
57. (December 9, 2021). "Jussie Smollett found guilty of falsely reporting a hate crime". [[CNN]].
58. (March 10, 2022). "Jussie Smollett sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation". WGN-TV.
59. (March 11, 2022). "'I am not suicidal': Jussie Smollett shouts in courtroom as he is jailed for 150 days over hate crime hoax".
60. (March 11, 2022). "Jussie Smollett's Attorneys File Emergency Motion Seeking Release From Jail".
61. (March 16, 2022). "Jussie Smollett has been released from jail pending an appeal of his conviction". CNN.
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65. (March 1, 2023). "Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, Criminal Division, Cook County, Illinois".
66. (December 1, 2023). "Illinois appeals court affirms actor Jussie Smollett's convictions and jail sentence".
67. Feurer, Todd. (November 21, 2024). "Actor Jussie Smollett's conviction overturned by Illinois Supreme Court - CBS Chicago". CBS News.
68. Krochmal, Shana Naomi. (January 28, 2016). "Jussie Smollett on How a Black Gay Man Can Save the World".
69. Portwood, Jerry. (March 9, 2015). "Empire's Jussie Smollett Comes Out to Ellen". [[Out (magazine).
70. D'Addario, Daniel. (March 9, 2015). "'Empire': Why Star Jussie Smollett's Coming-Out Matters".
71. Logan, Michael. (December 2, 2015). "Empire Sex Scandal: Lee Daniels and Jussie Smollett Defend That Shocking Hook-Up". [[TV Insider]].
72. Saunders, Angel. (June 20, 2025). "Jussie Smollett Engaged to Boyfriend Jabari Redd: 'He Said YES'".
73. "Jussie Smollett case: FBI investigates whether actor had any role in threatening letter". [[USA Today]].
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80. (March 2, 2018). "Sum of My Music by Jussie Smollett".
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83. "Empire Cast – Chart history – Billboard (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)".
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85. "Empire Cast – Chart history – Billboard (Hot R&B Songs)".
86. "Jussie Smollett – Chart history – Billboard (Hot R&B Songs)".
87. "Empire Cast – Chart history – Billboard (Adult R&B Songs)".
88. "Jussie Smollett – Chart history – Billboard (Adult R&B Songs)".
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90. "Suche – Offizielle Deutsche Charts (Search: Jussie Smollett)".
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93. "Conqueror by Empire Cast featuring Estelle and Jussie Smollett – Music Charts".
94. "Good Enough by Empire Cast and Jussie Smollett – Music Charts".
95. "Ain't About The Money by Empire Cast featuring Jussie Smollett and Yazz – Music Charts".
96. "Chart Search (Jussie Smollett: Bubbling Under Hot 100".
97. (February 25, 2015). "Why Isn't 'Empire's' Music Topping the Billboard Charts?". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
98. (December 2021). "Chart Search (Jussie Smollett: Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs".