Jurnee Smollett-Bell - Biography

Jurnee Smollett-Bell was born on October 1, 1986 in New York City, New York, USA as Jurnee Diana Smollett. She is an actress, known for her role as Jess Merriweather on the Emmy Award winning TV series, Friday Night Lights (2011). She is also known for her roles in The Great Debaters (2007), Eve's Bayou (1997), True Blood (2013), as well as Jason Katims' NBC show Parenthood (2013). She is the daughter of Janet and Joel Smollett. Her father was Ashkenazi Jewish and her mother is African-American.