Jussie Smollett

Jussie Smollett (born June 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer whose career spans more than three decades, beginning as a child model and extra before breaking into film with The Mighty Ducks (1992). Raised in a highly artistic family—his mother Janet Harris is African‑American and Irish, his father Joel Smollett is Jewish—he grew up alongside five siblings, including actress Jurnee Smollett, and moved from Santa Rosa, California to Queens and then Los Angeles during his formative years. After appearing in early 1990s movies such as Mo' Better Blues and New Jack City, he landed a regular role on the short‑lived ABC sitcom On Our Own (1994‑1995) alongside his brothers and sisters, establishing him as a recognizable child actor. Following a hiatus, Smollett returned to the screen in 2009, taking on diverse television guest spots before attaining mainstream fame as Jamal Lyon, a gay musician battling familial expectations, on the critically acclaimed Fox series Empire (2015‑2019). His portrayal was hailed for its groundbreaking visibility of a Black gay man on network television, and he even directed a fourth‑season episode in 2017. Parallel to his acting, Smollett pursued music, signing with Columbia Records in 2015, contributing original songs to the Empire soundtrack, and releasing his debut album Sum of My Music in 2018, an eclectic blend of R&B, electronic, and hip‑hop influences. Smollett’s public profile was dramatically altered by the 2019 alleged hate‑crime hoax, which led to multiple legal battles, a conviction, a brief jail sentence, and a series of appeals that culminated in the Illinois Supreme Court overturning his conviction in 2024 on due‑process grounds. Throughout the controversy, he maintained a vocal presence in the media, defending his actions and challenging the legal process. In his personal life, Smollett publicly came out as gay in 2015 on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and in June 2025 announced his engagement to Jabari Redd. Despite the tumultuous legal saga, he continues to act, direct, and produce music, positioning himself as a resilient figure in contemporary entertainment.