Jurnee Smollett

Smollett-Bell in 2011, photo by s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

Birth Name: Jurnee Diana Smollett

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: October 1, 1986

Ethnicity:
*father – Ashkenazi Jewish
*mother – African-American, possibly other

Jurnee Smollett, also credited by her former married name Jurnee Smollett-Bell, is an American actress. She is known for starring as Samantha Booke in the film The Great Debaters, among other roles. She is the daughter of Janet (Harris) and Joel Smollett. Her siblings include Jojo Smollett, Jazz Smollett, Jussie Smollett, Jake Smollett, and Jocqui Smollett, all of whom have been involved in the entertainment business.

Jurnee’s father, who was white, was Ashkenazi Jewish, from a family from Romania, Russia, and Poland. The family surname was Smolovitz several generations back.

Jurnee’s mother is black.

Jurnee stated in an interview that, aside from African-American, their mother has Native American, Louisiana Creole, and Irish ancestry. It is not clear if this is accurate.

Jurnee has a son with her former husband, musician Josiah Bell.

Jurnee’s paternal grandfather was Peter Smollett (the son of David Lewis Smolovitz/Smollett and Dawley/Dawlly Levy). Peter was born in New York. David was a Romanian Jewish emigrant, born in Iași, Iași County, the son of Jacob Smolovitz/Smilowitz/Smollett and Rebecca Moscowitz. Dawley was born in New York, to Polish Jewish parents, Charles D. Levy and Esty/Betsy Cohen.

Jurnee’s paternal grandmother is Molly/Mollie Hirschenson (the son of Irving I. Hirschenson and Gertrude Horowitz). Molly was born in New York. Irving was the son of Jeremiah Hirschenson and Sarah Heller. Gertrude was the daughter of Louis Horowitz and Anna Lupin.

Jurnee’s maternal grandfather was named John Harris.

Jurnee’s maternal grandmother was named Grace/Raphel Smith.

Sources: Interview where Jurnee mentions her background – http://www.tsdmemphis.com

Genealogies of Jurnee Smollett-Bell – https://www.geni.com
https://1.bp.blogspot.com

Jurnee’s paternal grandfather, Peter Smollett, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Obituary of Jurnee’s paternal grandfather, Peter Smollett – https://www.genealogiequebec.com

Marriage record of Jurnee’s paternal great-grandparents, David Lewis Smolovitz/Smollett and Dawley/Dawlly Levy – https://www.familysearch.org

Jurnee’s paternal great-grandfather, David Lewis Smolovitz/Smollett, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

ethnic

Curious about ethnicity

53 Responses

  1. perez-richart says:

    she is mixed

  2. phaedra says:

    She looks like Alicia Keys.

  3. archer303 says:

    According to Wikipedia she’s black and white.

  4. myarmyrulesyours says:

    Jurnee is white. She is not black or biracial.

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