You may know her from Birds of Prey (2020), Lovecraft Country (2020), and Smoke (2025). But Jurnee Smollett’s career stretches back more than three decades.
On October 1, 2026, Jurnee Smollett turned 40. And there are plenty of reasons to celebrate. This year alone, she’s starred in an Audible drama, played Rosa Parks in a Larry David sketch series, and even made her Off-Broadway debut in The Whoopi Monologues.
Some of her previous career highlights include an Emmy nomination, major TV roles, and acting alongside Hollywood heavyweights like Jamie Foxx and Margot Robbie.
So how did a child actress from a big New York family become such a versatile leading lady? And what is she up to now?
Jurnee Smollett Got Her First Role at Just Four Years Old: Was She a ‘Nepo Baby’?
Not all Hollywood child stars are nepo babies. Jurnee Smollett got her start when her mother pushed her to audition. Born in New York City in 1986, Smollett grew up alongside five siblings, all of them performers.
At just four years old, she made her on-screen debut in Sunday in Paris (1991). A year later, she appeared in an episode of the much-loved sitcom Martin.
She snagged recurring roles on Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper (1992) and Full House (1992–1994), both part of ABC’s TGIF lineup like Family Matters, before her big break as Eve in Eve’s Bayou (1997) [84% on Rotten Tomatoes]. This moving portrayal won her the title of Best Child Performance in the Critics’ Choice Awards.
Fun fact: Between 1994 and 1995, Smollett and her five siblings co-starred in their own ABC comedy series called On Our Own.
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Industry Burnout Followed by Renewed Inspiration: Did Jurnee Smollett Nearly Quit Acting at 20?
By the time Smollett was 20, she was experiencing a few frustrations with Hollywood, lamenting that she was “over the industry. Not the art side, but the business side” in a 2020 HollywoodLife interview.
However, a humanitarian trip to South Africa alongside veteran actors Alfre Woodard and Samuel L. Jackson shifted her perspective.
In the same interview, she said that, having been given the gift of art, she felt she had to use it.
Jurnee Smollett’s Best Movies and TV Shows: A Diverse Range of Characters, From Heroines to Detectives
Rather than getting typecast in a stereotypical role, Smollett has proved she has true range. Here are just a few of her standout credits:
- The Great Debaters (2007) [80% on Rotten Tomatoes]: Samantha Booke, the only woman on Wiley College’s debate team
- Friday Night Lights (2009–2011): Jess Merriweather, who dreams of coaching football
- Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013): A relationship therapist whose own life starts to fall apart
- Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) [79% on Rotten Tomatoes]: Dinah Lance, aka Black Canary, a lounge singer whose scream can shatter glass
- Lovecraft Country (2020) [88% on Rotten Tomatoes]: Leti Lewis, who takes on both monsters and racists in 1950s America. The role earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
- Smoke (2025): Detective Michelle Calderone, who is hunting down arsonists
In a 2025 interview with Schön!, Smollett reflected: “Every character is a building block for your instrument, even the bad ones.” She added that she’s grateful for all of it.
What Is Jurnee Smollett Doing Today? Her 2026 Projects, From Audible to Off-Broadway
2026 has been one of the busiest years of Smollett’s career.
In April, she starred opposite Jack Falahee and Stephanie Hsu in the Audible audio drama Between Me and You, produced by Kerry Washington’s Simpson Street. In June, she popped up as Rosa Parks in Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, Larry David’s HBO sketch series. And in August, she made her Off-Broadway debut in The Whoopi Monologues at Lincoln Center Theater, taking over from Kerry Washington.
When she’s not acting, she’s raising her son, Hunter. Smollett also served on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Defense Fund in 2020 and has advocated for HIV/AIDS awareness since she was 11.
From child sitcom star to Emmy-nominated lead, Smollett has spent more than three decades proving she can do it all. We can’t wait to see her in the thriller, Sunflower, directed by her Lovecraft Country collaborator Misha Green, where she’s set to star alongside Isabel May and Scott Speedman, though no release date has been announced.
Eve’s Bayou is streaming on Peacock and the Criterion Channel (and free through Plex, Kanopy, and Hoopla), Birds of Prey and Lovecraft Country are on HBO Max, and Smoke is on Apple TV.
