Jussie Smollett began his career as a child actor in 1991 debuting in The Mighty Ducks.
35 Facts About Jussie Smollett
2.
From 2015 to 2019, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox drama series Empire.
3.
In December 2021, Jussie Smollett was convicted of five felony counts of disorderly conduct; he was sentenced in March 2022 to 150 days in county jail.
4.
Jussie Smollett has since been released on bond while his case is on appeal.
5.
Jussie Smollett was born in Santa Rosa, California, to Joel and Janet Smollett.
6.
Jussie Smollett has three brothers and two sisters: Jake, Jocqui, Jojo, Jurnee, and Jazz, several of whom are actors.
7.
Jussie Smollett's mother is African-American, and his father is Jewish.
8.
Jussie Smollett has said that his father would "kill you if you called him white".
9.
Jussie Smollett's father was absent from his life for a significant portion of his childhood.
10.
Jussie Smollett graduated from Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey.
11.
When he was 19, Jussie Smollett told his parents he was gay.
12.
Jussie Smollett began his acting career as a child model in New York City and later worked as an extra on the New York-shot movies Mo' Better Blues and New Jack City He went on to act in the films The Mighty Ducks and Rob Reiner's North.
13.
In 2012, Jussie Smollett returned to acting with the leading role in Patrik-Ian Polk's LGBT-themed comedy-drama The Skinny.
14.
Jussie Smollett later guest-starred on The Mindy Project and Revenge.
15.
Jussie Smollett's role was hailed as groundbreaking for its positive depiction of a black gay man on television.
16.
Jussie Smollett reprised his role in subsequent seasons and directed an episode of the fourth season in 2017.
17.
Jussie Smollett's character was removed from the final two episodes of season five because of the assault controversy.
18.
In February 2015, Jussie Smollett confirmed that he had signed a recording contract with Columbia Records and would be releasing an album in the future.
19.
Jussie Smollett co-wrote the songs "I Wanna Love You" and "You're So Beautiful" on the Original Soundtrack from Season 1 of Empire album, which was released in March 2015.
20.
Jussie Smollett released his debut album, Sum of My Music, in March 2018.
21.
Jussie Smollett self-released it through his own label, Music of Sound.
22.
Jussie Smollett directed B-Boy Blues, a movie based on the 1994 black gay novel by James Earl Hardy.
23.
On January 29,2019, Jussie Smollett told police that he was physically attacked outside his apartment building along with the use of racial and homophobic slurs.
24.
Jussie Smollett was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and was released "in good condition" later that morning.
25.
On February 20,2019, Jussie Smollett was charged by a grand jury with a class 4 felony for filing a false police report.
26.
In November 2019, Jussie Smollett filed a countersuit against the city of Chicago alleging he was the victim of "mass public ridicule and harm" and arguing he should not be made to reimburse the city for the cost of the investigation.
27.
On February 11,2020, after further investigation by a special prosecutor was completed, Jussie Smollett was indicted again by a Cook County grand jury on six counts of felony disorderly conduct about making four false police reports.
28.
Jussie Smollett's trial began in November 2021, and on December 9 Smollett was found guilty of five of the six counts.
29.
Jussie Smollett was ordered to make restitution to the city of Chicago of just over $120,000 and fined $25,000.
30.
Jussie Smollett's lawyers filed a notice of appeal the following day.
31.
On March 16,2022, an Illinois appeals court ordered that Jussie Smollett be released from jail, upon his posting of a $150,000 personal recognizance bond, pending the outcome of the appeal of his conviction.
32.
On March 1,2023, Jussie Smollett's attorney filed an appeal of his 150-day sentence related to the felony disorderly conduct conviction in his alleged hate crime hoax.
33.
Jussie Smollett publicly came out as gay during a televised interview with Ellen DeGeneres in March 2015.
34.
In 2007 Jussie Smollett pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor counts providing false information to law enforcement resulting from a DUI stop in which he gave police a false name pretending to be his brother.
35.
Jussie Smollett pleaded no contest to driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit and driving without a valid driver's license and was sentenced to a fine and three years of probation.