Jussie Smollett

Jussie Smollett is an American actor, filmmaker, and singer born on June 21, 1982. He began his career as a child performer in the early 1990s, debuting in the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks. From 2015 to 2019, he portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox drama series Empire, a role that brought him widespread recognition. Beyond television, he has released music as a recording artist and directed film projects.

Smollett was born in Santa Rosa, California, to Janet and Joel Smollett. He is biracial and Jewish, with an African-American and Irish mother and a Jewish father. He grew up alongside five siblings—Jake, Jocqui, Jojo, Jurnee, and Jazz—several of whom also pursued acting careers. His family moved to Queens, New York, when he was two years old, and later relocated to Los Angeles when he was around seven. He attended Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey. Smollett told his parents he was gay at age 19 and later publicly came out during a televised interview in March 2015.

Smollett started his career as a child model in New York City and worked as an extra on films such as Mo' Better Blues and New Jack City. Following roles in The Mighty Ducks and North, he starred alongside his real-life siblings in the sitcom On Our Own from 1994 to 1995. He returned to acting in the 2012 film The Skinny, released an EP titled The Poisoned Hearts Club, and guest-starred on shows including The Mindy Project and Revenge. In 2007, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts related to providing false evidence during a DUI stop.

In 2014, Smollett was cast as Jamal Lyon in Empire, a performance recognized for its positive depiction of a Black gay man on television. During his time on the show, he co-wrote songs for its soundtrack and signed a recording contract with Columbia Records in 2015. He released his debut R&B studio album, Sum of My Music, through his own label in March 2018. Smollett also directed an episode of Empire in 2017 and later directed the feature film B-Boy Blues, released in November 2021.

In January 2019, Smollett reported to police that he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago. A police investigation determined that he had staged the assault with two acquaintances. He was charged with filing a false police report, but prosecutors dropped the charges after he completed community service and forfeited his $10,000 bond. The city of Chicago subsequently sued him for investigation costs, and Smollett filed a countersuit.

Following an independent inquiry, a special prosecutor re-indicted Smollett on six felony counts of disorderly conduct in February 2020. In December 2021, he was convicted on five counts and sentenced in March 2022 to 150 days in county jail, probation, restitution, and a fine, though he was released after six days pending appeal. After lower courts upheld the conviction, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed it in November 2024 on the grounds that retrying him violated his due process rights after he fulfilled the original 2019 agreement.