You may remember her as the cute kid from CBS’s hit TV show Cosby, not The Cosby Show, but the show that came after the pop culture hit. Whether you remember her from that show or as the precocious young girl in Eve’s Bayou or the sassy teen in Roll Bounce, you’re sure to remember 21-year-old Jurnee Smollett after what seems to be a riveting performance in the Oprah Winfrey produced and Denzel Washington directed film, The Great Debaters.
Inspired by a true story, the movie tells the story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas who encourages African-American students to form the school’s first debate team.
I’ve only viewed an extended trailer of the upcoming film, but the clips that I have seen, have shown Jurnee performing an excellent portrayal of an impassioned lawyer and orator in the South during the mid 1930s.
With the undoubtedly helpful Oprah and Denzel promotion and influence, I’m sure that the film will be a box-office hit, which will surely make her the hottest young African-American female actress in Tinseltown.
Watch the Great Debaters Trailer here:
Here are 5 Facts about Jurnee:
She has 4 brothers and 1 sister and all of their names begin with the letter “J.”
She did a TV show with her brothers and sisters called, On Our Own on ABC in 1994.
She’s been in front of the camera since she was 10 months old.
She appeared on ABC’s Full House several times.
She is on the Board of Directors of “Artists for a New Africa,” a group dedicated to dealing with HIV/AIDS in Africa.
