Jurnee Smollett

Meeting Mandela

t5m — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:01:51 +0000

Of course, Jurnee remembers the exact date she met Nelson Mandela, it was October 8th in South Africa, and the entire delegate had a meeting with him. There was something about his presence when he walked into the room, Jurnee explains, and that she still feels it today.

Jurnee was fortunate enough to sit next to him whilst holding his hand, and the experience has taught her of the importance of forgetting people’s backgrounds and of not letting barriers get in people’s way.

Jurnee says Nelson was a really personable and warm person, and he even asked how Opera and Denzel were!

A flirt at 3!

t5m — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:58:55 +0000

Jurnee openly admits that she was a flirt at the age of three! She was doing a pepsi advert with Joe Montana, and she was playing with his collar, she told t5m. And her perchant for the older man didn’t end there, as Jurnee also had many celebrity crushes from a young age like, Paul Newman, Wesley Snipes, Will Smith, Sidney Poitier, and Denzel Washington who she first saw in ‘Glory’ and ‘Malcom X’.

Jurnee has never told Denzel that she has a crush on him, now she admires him in a fraternal way. She recalls a hilarious story when she went to the movie theatre to watch ‘Waiting to Exhale’ starring Wesley Snipes. Everytime he came on screen, she would clap!

Jurnee on being a role model

t5m — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:54:41 +0000

Jurnee’s filmography is as long as her arm, if not longer! She has worked on films like Eve’s Bayou (1997) , Selma, Lord Selma(1999), The Great Debators (2007) and her television appearances include a stint on the hit US drama Grey’s Anatomy, Hanging with Mr Cooper (1992), Full House (1992-1994), ER (2002) …the list goes on.

Her older co-stars have always helped her with her confidence from a young age, and reminded her to believe in herself and her ability. She has a little village of fans, one being her mother, and the others that help validate her as an actor. She grew up watching Claudine (1974) and she had the opportunity to work with Diahann Carroll, who she looked up to. She hopes one day that she can be a role model for young aspiring actors, she told t5m.

You and I = United

t5m — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:52:25 +0000

Jurnee has been active in the HIV and AIDS cause from the age of twelve, and was floored when Barack Obama congratulated her on her work. “He congratulated me!” she told t5m in shock.

She sat next to Obama at the banquet dinner, and as Jurnee prides herself on being a good judge of character, she feels that Obama is honest and will do everything in his power to lead the nation in the right direction. ”

“He seems to be channelling the great leaders of the past, its not something you can fake. He spoke about how important it is for us to be the change we want to see, we shouldn’t distinguish ourselves from republicans or democrats, red or blue, but we should stand united.” Jurnee explains.

And to make sure she has plenty of memories from the historic day, Jurnee tells us that she didn’t shy away from taking pictures of him during his speech!

A Jurnee to Vegas

t5m — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:48:40 +0000

Child star, Jurnee Smollett had the great opportunity of being whisked away by the democratic party during the US elections. She headed to Las Vegas to host the King Committe, and to encourage people to vote. Unbeknown to her, she was to introduce Barack Obama which was an electrifying experience, she told t5m.

Her family lived and breathed the election campaign, and even slept with CNN on in the background! Jurnee explains that she was so excited as she genuinelly believed in Obama. The next day, her and her family joined Senator Horsewood of Nevada and his family, together they knocked on everyone’s doors encouraging them to go and vote. She met a woman in MacDonalds, who had never voted in her life, and Jurnee convinced her to go and place her vote. Jurnee was so dedicated to the cause, she ended up driving the woman to the polling station, just to cast her vote.