A biography for Jurnee Smollett-Bellhasn’t been written yet.
“Before being a mom, I remember going on a Twitter rant during the whole George Zimmerman trial in Florida about my younger brothers and how one day I'll be the mom of a black son.”
“Until we really heal the wounds that we dealt with during slavery, I don't think we'll be a fully realized country.”
“I'm told I'm a statistic. I'm told that my young black sisters are disease-ridden... but we are greater than what society tells us we are.”
“I have respect for therapists in general, because they hear so many stories. It's a lot to hold and take in.”
“Part of an ensemble show is realizing it's a collaboration. It's like a symphony. Everybody takes their turn, but it's really the collective group that matters.”
“We never get fashion shows in L.A.! Ever!”
“There's something about Jason Katims' writing that just feels like home to me. He gives you so much liberty to play, which you don't find on most TV shows. You just don't.”
“Everyone has a past, but I try not to let that affect the way I see them; I want to get to know who they are today.”
“My mom bought me an 'Anne of Green Gables' journal. And I just remember thinking it was so cool, and I could write anything in it.”
“I started shooting 'The Defenders' two days after I wrapped' Friday Night Lights.' I was doing research for 'The Defenders' throughout - interviewing lawyers and sitting in courtrooms just to watch - but there's something fun about throwing yourself in the water and learning by doing.”
“How often do you see young actors playing scholars? Or striving to be intellectuals, you know? It's not that often.”
“I walk in a space of gratitude. I'm so grateful to God for blessing me with an amazing family and the opportunity to do what I love.”
“Oftentimes, a history book in school will talk about the Underground Railroad as if it's one sentence. But thousands of people decided to run, and they single-handedly changed the trajectory of our nation. By running to the North, they put a face to slavery, which recruited a lot of abolitionists.”
“The slave narratives, there is a wealth of research there, because you are hearing stories from the first person account, and that's a whole different thing than reading about it in the history books. You're able to really personalize it.”
“I have so many passions outside of my passion for acting.”
“People look at you, and they think they know you. They think they can place you in a certain category by what they think they know about you. But there's so much more to all of us than what we know and what we see at face value.”
“My dream role is actually behind the camera. I want to direct.”
“'Full House' was the first time I had ever been in front of a live audience. I said a line I had rehearsed with my mom, and they laughed. It was wild. To have that energy of the live audience was like, Whaaat? Feeding off that live audience was, to a 4 or 5 year old, a high.”
“When I was younger, I really struggled with confidence.”
“It's not very exciting to go to work to just have your character's identity being defined by her relationship with her male counterparts.”