Justin "Jussie" Smollett (/ˈdÊ'ÊŒsi/ JUSS-ee, born June 21, 1982) is
an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in
1987 acting in films including The Mighty Ducks (1992) and Rob
Reiner's North (1994). In 2015, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon
in the Fox drama series Empire, a role that was hailed as
groundbreaking for its positive depiction of a black gay man on
television. Smollett has also appeared in Ridley Scott's science
fiction film Alien: Covenant (2017) as Ricks and in Marshall (2017) as
Langston Hughes.Smollett was indicted in February 2019, for disorderly
conduct for allegedly staging a fake hate crime assault; the charges
were dropped the following month. In February 2020, he was indicted on
six counts of making false police reports.Jussie Smollett was born in
Santa Rosa, California, the son of Joel and Janet (née Harris)
Smollett. He has three brothers and two sisters: Jake, Jocqui, Jojo,
Jurnee, and Jazz, several of whom are also actors. Smollett is
biracial. His mother is African-American and his father is 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 2 years old, then to Los Angeles
when he was about 7. Smollett graduated from Paramus Catholic High
School in Paramus, New Jersey. When he was 19, Smollett told his
parents he was gay.
an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in
1987 acting in films including The Mighty Ducks (1992) and Rob
Reiner's North (1994). In 2015, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon
in the Fox drama series Empire, a role that was hailed as
groundbreaking for its positive depiction of a black gay man on
television. Smollett has also appeared in Ridley Scott's science
fiction film Alien: Covenant (2017) as Ricks and in Marshall (2017) as
Langston Hughes.Smollett was indicted in February 2019, for disorderly
conduct for allegedly staging a fake hate crime assault; the charges
were dropped the following month. In February 2020, he was indicted on
six counts of making false police reports.Jussie Smollett was born in
Santa Rosa, California, the son of Joel and Janet (née Harris)
Smollett. He has three brothers and two sisters: Jake, Jocqui, Jojo,
Jurnee, and Jazz, several of whom are also actors. Smollett is
biracial. His mother is African-American and his father is 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 2 years old, then to Los Angeles
when he was about 7. Smollett graduated from Paramus Catholic High
School in Paramus, New Jersey. When he was 19, Smollett told his
parents he was gay.
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