Jurnee Smollett

by ethnic


Birth Name: Jurnee Diana Smollett

Birthplace: New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: October 1, 1986

Race or Ethnicity: African American, Jewish

Jurnee Smollett plays Samantha Booke from The Great Debaters. She was born to a Jewish father and an African American mother.

http://www.ebonyjet.com/music/jussiesmollett.aspx

photo by s_bukley / Shutterstock.com


{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }

mee March 1, 2012 at 3:12 am

lol i dont think she wants to be jewish

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magnus February 10, 2012 at 12:06 pm

she is not jewish. her father was jewish but her mother was african. due to jewish laws, the mother has to be jewish for the child to be a jew. nice try though.

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Angantyr February 12, 2012 at 1:57 am

She is not Jewish because Jewish is not an ethnic group. Some Jews in Europe might indeed descend from Hebrews, but most descend from converts. Only Zionists and the Israeli government what them to be ethnic Jews because they think it gives them a right to a part of Palestine; but it wouldn’t anyway as they had not lived there for thousands of years, whereas Palestinians had and thus they have more of a right to the land. Unfortunately Israel has to remain due to how many children have been born there now, but they really need to stop their aggression and make their country less racist.

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Dolphin's Revenge March 5, 2012 at 1:29 am

We are not here to talk politics. Tone it down a bit.

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Anissa DelGrosso January 30, 2012 at 4:34 pm

Honestly She Is A Pretty Girl && I Loved Her In Eve’s Bayou. But I Don’t See Judaism As A Race, I See It As A Belief. So I Take It That She Is Just African American. ;] But I LOVE HER!

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char February 6, 2012 at 8:57 pm

so…one parent was african american, and the other was a belief? how ridiculous do you sound? Maybe the tooth fairy huh?
Her Jewish-believing parent, who makes up half of her genetic code mind you, likely was heavily of european descent or maybe even israeli. Who knows except for her or even her flesh-and-blood parent themself? But what they were not, was an idea or belief. That doesnt give reason to erase half of her.

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Mary February 9, 2012 at 5:09 pm

Correct, Anissa. Jewish is not a race. Jewish is a Yiddish word (Yiddish is a part of the high Germanic languages). Jewish people are, primarily, Europeans who converted to Hebrew practices and labeled themselves after one of the tribes of Israel (the tribe of Judah). But there are 11 other tribes in the nation of Israel. Plus, in regards to the word “Jew”, you can find people all over the world who consider themselves Jews and some of them have been practicing Hebrew traditions longer than any European (living in Israel, Europe or the Americas). So, it’s more accurate to say that Jurnee’s father is a man who is of the White race and her mother is a woman who is of the Black race.

But again, I understand your point. It’s like saying someone is half African American and half Muslim or half Black and half Muslim. It’s ridiculous. And I believe the first poster who replied to you understood your point.

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Dolphin's Revenge February 20, 2012 at 10:16 pm

I thought Jews were genetically Mongoloid? That’s what they said on Mark Zuckerberg’s page . . .

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Dolphin's Revenge March 2, 2012 at 2:49 am

Of course I am right.

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ONLY ANGLO-SAXONS ARE WHITE March 13, 2012 at 10:22 pm

I can’t believe you said this, Mary! Where are the stones?

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sycogcx January 23, 2012 at 10:03 pm

I member her from eves bayou she was so cute

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lynsey January 20, 2012 at 11:33 pm

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

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MandaChick! January 21, 2012 at 2:31 pm

Seriously? You know what they meant. Her father’s white and her mother’s black.
Anyway, she’s one of my fav actresses. Loved her in “Eve’s Bayou.”

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Anissa DelGrosso January 30, 2012 at 4:35 pm

Actually No It Doesn’t. Because My Mom’s Friend Is Jewish & She Is Black. So I Don’t Understand Where You Get The Whole Entire White Thing From.??

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char February 6, 2012 at 9:04 pm

So your mom’s friend may have converted to judiasm, or could even be descended from jewish people. In judiasm, they believe that a woman’s child is whatever religion that she is…so think about that. People have a right to subscribe to any belief they want, but i don’t think that is a reason to discredit those who are jewish by birth and have a long history extending to before christians even called themselves christians.

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ONLY ANGLO-SAXONS ARE WHITE March 13, 2012 at 10:22 pm

I can’t believe you called the Jews white. I’m shocked. Why didn’t people kill you?

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Lala January 13, 2012 at 4:18 pm

Such a beautiful girl. Inside, out.

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Amanda January 9, 2012 at 4:25 pm

She is really pretty!

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That Black Guy January 8, 2012 at 6:54 am

So beautiful.

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mdd September 1, 2011 at 11:11 pm

eve’s bayou is a classic with megan good when they were younger. you should check out “on our own” which an older sitcom from the 1990s with more of Jurnee’s siblings.

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murray March 20, 2011 at 3:08 pm

I have no corrections, but I do have a question, Ms Smollett was in a movie I recently saw EVE’S BAYOU, and I thought she was absolutely amazing in this film, I would like to know if she is in any new film? If yes what is the title and when will it be released? If you would like you can relay my message to her.

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