Joel Smollett was the father behind one of America’s most recognizable entertainment families. Best known today as the father of actors including Jussie Smollett, Jurnee Smollett and Jake Smollett, Joel himself lived almost entirely outside Hollywood. He worked a regular job as a cable splicer, shared a strong interest in civil rights with his wife Janet, and helped raise six children who later entered acting, music, food, business and other creative careers. Joel died on January 7, 2015, after battling cancer, but his children have continued to speak about the powerful influence he had on their lives.
Joel Smollett Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Joel Smollett Sr. |
| Known For | Father of the six Smollett siblings |
| Birth Year | Around 1956, based on his reported age at death |
| Heritage | Russian-Polish Jewish |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Cable splicer |
| Employers Reported by Jussie | ITT in New York and PacBell |
| Wife | Janet Smollett |
| Children | Six |
| Children’s Names | Jojo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, Jake and Jocqui |
| Civil Rights Connection | Met Janet while involved in civil-rights work in the Bay Area |
| Date of Death | January 7, 2015 |
| Age at Death | 58 |
| Cause of Death | Cancer; specific type not publicly established |
| Public Lifestyle | Very private |
Jussie Smollett described his father as a hardworking Russian-Polish Jewish man who supported the family by working as a cable splicer, first for ITT in New York and later for PacBell. Reporting about the family also says Joel and Janet met in California’s Bay Area while involved in civil-rights causes.
Who Was Joel Smollett?
Joel Smollett Sr. was a father, husband and working man whose family eventually became famous in American entertainment.
Unlike several of his children, Joel was not an actor.
He did not appear regularly on television.
He did not build a singing career.
He did not become a Hollywood manager.
Instead, he supported his family through practical work while helping create the values and family environment in which his children grew up.
That difference is important.
When people see a family filled with actors, it can be easy to imagine that the parents were Hollywood insiders.
That was not the Smollett story.
Joel’s children entered entertainment young, but the family’s identity was built around much more than acting.
Creativity, activism, cultural awareness and family loyalty were all major parts of their upbringing. A New York Times profile of Jussie and Jurnee described the siblings as growing up in a household where creativity and social justice were deeply connected.
Joel Smollett’s Early Life
Detailed reliable information about Joel’s childhood is limited.
Many modern biography websites give a precise birthday, birthplace and long family history.
However, most strong profiles of his children focus instead on his heritage, work and family life.
Joel was described by Jussie as a Russian-Polish Jew. Other biographies of the Smollett siblings similarly say their father’s family had roots in Russia and Poland.
Some websites interpret this to mean Joel himself was born in Russia.
That point is less clearly documented.
It is therefore more accurate to say that he came from a Russian-Polish Jewish family background rather than confidently assigning him a birthplace without strong evidence.
Joel Smollett’s Jewish Heritage
Joel’s Jewish identity became an important part of the Smollett family story.
Jussie once described his father as a Russian-Polish Jew and joked that Joel strongly rejected being casually described simply as white.
The Smollett children grew up with both their father’s Jewish heritage and their mother’s African-American heritage.
Jurnee has described herself using the playful word “Blewish,” combining Black and Jewish. Her public biographies note that her father was Jewish and her mother African-American.
For the children, these were not abstract identities.
They shaped the food they ate, the family history they heard, the communities around them and the way they understood race and culture.
Who Was Joel Smollett’s Wife?
Joel was married to Janet Smollett, also known as Janet Harris before marriage.
Janet is African-American and came from New Orleans.
She became deeply connected with activism and later played a central role in encouraging her children’s creativity.
The New York Times’ reporting on the family said Janet and Joel met in the San Francisco Bay Area, where both were involved in civil-rights work.
That makes their relationship unusual compared with a typical celebrity-family story.
They did not meet on a movie set.
They did not meet at an awards ceremony.
They met through social activism before their children became famous.
Joel and Janet Smollett’s Civil Rights Connection
Civil rights were not simply something the Smollett children learned about later.
The subject was part of the family’s history.
The Washington Post reported that Joel and Janet met in the Bay Area while working on civil-rights causes. Their family later remained strongly connected with ideas of equality, justice and activism.
Jussie has said his mother was active around people including Bobby Seale and Huey Newton and was influenced by civil-rights leader Julian Bond.
The children later became involved with causes including HIV/AIDS awareness, anti-apartheid work and racial justice.
It would be too simple to credit every later political belief directly to Joel.
Children build their own opinions.
But the environment Joel and Janet created clearly exposed them to discussions of justice from a young age.
What Did Joel Smollett Do for a Living?
Joel worked as a cable splicer.
This is one of the strongest details we have about his professional life because it comes directly from Jussie’s description of his father.
Jussie said Joel worked at ITT in New York and later at PacBell.
Cable splicing is skilled technical work.
A cable splicer connects, repairs and maintains cables used for communications or other infrastructure.
The job can require:
technical knowledge,
careful handwork,
problem solving,
outdoor work,
and dealing with equipment that must function reliably.
It is a very different career from acting.
Joel earned a living through this practical work while his children’s entertainment opportunities gradually began to grow.
Joel Smollett Was a Working Father
This part of Joel’s story deserves attention.
His children eventually appeared on television and in movies, but the family did not begin as a wealthy Hollywood dynasty.
Joel worked.
Janet raised and guided the children.
The family moved between different places as opportunities and circumstances changed.
Jussie and Jurnee have described growing up between New York and Los Angeles while the siblings pursued modeling, acting and music.
Behind that lifestyle were two parents trying to keep a large family together.
Six children alone would make any household busy.
Six creative children attending auditions and working on sets created an even more complicated schedule.
How Many Children Did Joel Smollett Have?
Joel and Janet had six children.
Their names are:
Jojo Smollett,
Jazz Smollett,
Jussie Smollett,
Jurnee Smollett,
Jake Smollett,
and Jocqui Smollett.
The family had four sons and two daughters.
People’s recent profile of the siblings confirms the six-child family and notes that all six became involved in entertainment when young.
One of the most recognizable features of the family is that every child’s first name begins with the letter J.
Jojo Smollett
Jojo is the oldest of the six siblings.
He acted during his younger years and appeared alongside his brothers and sisters on the ABC sitcom On Our Own.
His later life became less focused on performing.
The New York Times’ 2016 family profile reported that the oldest sibling was working at a nonprofit at that time.
This shows something important about Joel’s children.
Although they all experienced entertainment as children, not every one of them chose to remain a full-time actor as an adult.
Jazz Smollett
Jazz is Joel and Janet’s older daughter.
Like her siblings, she appeared on On Our Own.
She later became involved with lifestyle, food and production projects.
Jazz has also worked alongside her brother Jake on home and food-related television content.
Food has always been a major part of the Smollett family identity.
The siblings later helped create The Family Table: Recipes and Moments from a Nomadic Life, a cookbook built around family recipes and memories.
Their mother’s cooking receives much of the attention in that story, but the book also reflects the larger home Joel and Janet created.
Jussie Smollett
Jussie became one of Joel’s most widely recognized children.
He acted as a child before later becoming internationally known for playing Jamal Lyon on the television drama Empire.
The show premiered on January 7, 2015.
That date became permanently connected with an extremely painful event in Jussie’s personal life.
Joel died that same morning.
Imagine that emotional contrast.
One of the biggest professional moments of Jussie’s life arrived on the same day he lost his father.
Years later, he still remembered the date clearly.
Jurnee Smollett
Jurnee became another highly successful actor in the family.
She began performing as a child and appeared on television before receiving major recognition for the 1997 film Eve’s Bayou.
Her later work included Friday Night Lights, True Blood, Underground, Lovecraft Country and Birds of Prey.
Jurnee has frequently spoken about the importance of family and activism.
Her biography identifies Joel as her father and notes his Russian and Polish Jewish family background.
Jurnee’s career is a strong example of the creativity Joel and Janet encouraged inside the family.
Jake Smollett
Jake is another member of the Smollett family who began performing young.
He appeared on On Our Own and later acted in Eve’s Bayou alongside Jurnee.
As an adult, Jake became especially associated with food and cooking.
His biography describes him as both an actor and cooking personality.
This shows the wide range of directions Joel’s children eventually took.
Their creativity did not remain limited to acting.
Jocqui Smollett
Jocqui is the youngest of the siblings.
He also appeared with the family on On Our Own.
Unlike Jussie or Jurnee, his adult career moved more strongly toward technology and business.
The New York Times family profile noted that Jocqui was working at a technology company at the time of its reporting.
Again, the Smollett family demonstrates that a creative childhood does not force every child into the same adult profession.
The Smollett Children on On Our Own
One of the most unusual moments in the family’s entertainment history came in 1994.
All six Smollett siblings appeared together on the ABC sitcom On Our Own.
The program followed a fictional family of siblings trying to stay together after losing their parents.
Having six real brothers and sisters play members of one fictional family gave the series an unusual feeling.
People confirms that all six siblings appeared together on the show.
For Joel and Janet, this must have created an extraordinary family schedule.
Most parents find it challenging to take one child to an activity.
They had six children working in entertainment.
Was Joel Smollett an Actor on On Our Own?
No.
Joel did not become a cast member simply because his children were on the show.
He remained their father behind the scenes.
This distinction is sometimes lost in online biographies that refer to the entire family as entertainers.
Joel himself was primarily known through his technical work, activism and family role.
The actors were his children.
A Creative Home
Jussie and Jurnee have described creativity as something that was simply expected in their household.
When they were young, performing was not limited to auditions.
The children created things together at home.
They watched classic films.
They cooked.
They performed.
They debated.
They spent large amounts of time together.
The New York Times described this atmosphere as central to the siblings’ later success.
Joel’s contribution may have been less visible than Janet’s role as their acting coach, but he was still part of the family structure supporting that environment.
Joel Smollett as a Father
Jussie’s memories give us one of the best pictures of Joel’s personality.
He described his father as hardworking, protective and something of a worrier.
He remembered Joel as the type of father who wanted to protect his children even after they became adults.
That is a much more useful picture than unsupported websites claiming to know his favorite hobbies or exact personality type.
From his son’s own words, Joel appears to have been strongly concerned with his family’s safety and wellbeing.
Why Family Was So Important to Joel Smollett
The Smollett siblings have remained closely connected throughout adulthood.
That does not mean their lives have always been easy.
They have experienced professional successes, controversies, illnesses and personal changes.
But descriptions of the family repeatedly return to loyalty.
Actress Alfre Woodard, who knew Jussie and Jurnee from childhood, described the siblings as people who continuously help one another through opportunities and challenges.
That family unity did not appear from nowhere.
Joel and Janet created the household in which it developed.
Joel Smollett and Family Moves
The Smollett family moved between different parts of the United States while the children were growing up.
Jussie’s biography records time in California, Queens in New York City, and later Los Angeles.
The New York Times also described the family bouncing between New York and Los Angeles while the children pursued acting, modeling and music opportunities.
Moving with six children cannot have been easy.
Every move meant:
new neighborhoods,
new routines,
new friends,
different schools or learning arrangements,
and new work challenges.
Keeping a family close through all those changes was an achievement in itself.
Joel Smollett and Janet’s Relationship
Public information about every stage of Joel and Janet’s marriage is limited.
Several secondary biographies describe them as married for decades.
A later interview with Jurnee indicated that her parents separated when the children were still young, showing that their relationship history may be more complicated than simplified celebrity profiles suggest.
What is certain is their lasting shared connection through their six children.
Both parents had an enormous impact on the family.
When Joel died, the children publicly spoke about him with deep love.
When Did Joel Smollett Die?
Joel Smollett died on January 7, 2015.
Jussie confirmed that his father died the same morning Empire premiered.
In a later interview, he explained that the coincidence made that period of his life impossible to forget.
Joel was reported to be 58 years old.
This places his birth around 1956, though his exact date of birth is not well documented by strong mainstream sources.
For that reason, biographies giving a precise birthday should be treated cautiously.
How Did Joel Smollett Die?
Joel died after battling cancer.
The exact type of cancer has not been clearly disclosed in strong public reporting.
This is another area where websites sometimes add unsupported detail.
The responsible version is simply that Joel had cancer and died in January 2015.
There is no need to guess which form of the disease he had.
His family’s public statements focused much more on his strength and dignity than on medical specifics.
Jussie Smollett’s Tribute to His Father
After Joel’s death, Jussie shared an emotional tribute.
He described his father as a fighter and a champion and spoke about the family’s grief at losing someone they viewed as their king.
The full message was deeply personal.
Its meaning was simple:
Joel was loved.
He had fought through serious illness.
And his children intended to continue making him proud.
For someone who avoided celebrity during his life, this tribute probably tells us more about Joel than any list of statistics could.
Joel Died the Day Empire Premiered
The timing of Joel’s death created one of the most emotional moments in the Smollett family story.
Empire became a massive television success.
Jussie’s role as Jamal Lyon changed his career.
But the first episode aired on the same day his father died.
Jussie later explained that he was grounded by family and love during the sudden wave of fame because he was simultaneously grieving Joel.
Success and sadness arrived together.
That experience permanently connected Joel’s memory with Jussie’s biggest professional breakthrough.
Joel Smollett’s Net Worth
There is no reliable public figure for Joel Smollett’s personal net worth.
Many celebrity websites give exact amounts.
Those numbers should not be treated as verified.
Joel worked as a cable splicer.
He supported a large family.
His children later developed successful careers of their own.
But none of that allows outsiders to calculate exactly what Joel personally owned.
A real net-worth calculation would require knowledge of:
savings,
property,
investments,
debts,
retirement accounts,
and other assets.
Those records are not publicly available in a reliable form.
Did Joel Make Money From His Children’s Acting Careers?
There is no strong public documentation showing Joel building a personal fortune as a professional manager of his children.
His children worked as actors when young, but Joel is not commonly identified as a Hollywood talent manager or entertainment executive.
Therefore, claims that he became wealthy by managing the Smollett children should be treated cautiously.
His best-documented job remained cable work.
Was Joel Smollett Famous While He Was Alive?
Not in the traditional sense.
His children became famous.
Joel became known through them.
He rarely gave major interviews.
He did not appear on red carpets regularly.
He did not build a public social-media personality.
That helps explain why there is relatively little reliable information about him.
Today, thousands of people search his name because the Smollett family has remained in public life.
During Joel’s lifetime, however, he appears to have preferred being the father behind the family rather than the celebrity at its center.
Why People Search for Joel Smollett Today
There are several reasons.
Some discover him through Jussie.
Others discover him through Jurnee.
Fans of Eve’s Bayou, Lovecraft Country, Empire or On Our Own may eventually become curious about the family.
Then questions appear:
Who was Joel Smollett?
What did he do for a living?
Was Joel Smollett Jewish?
Who was his wife?
How many children did he have?
How did Joel Smollett die?
Was he an actor?
These questions all lead to the same interesting discovery.
The man behind a highly creative family lived a fairly ordinary working life.
Joel Smollett’s Cultural Legacy
Joel’s legacy appears strongly through the cultural identity of his children.
The Smollett siblings grew up with both Black and Jewish heritage.
Their family mixed traditions in ways that Jussie and Jurnee have spoken about with humor and pride.
A New York Times profile described family breakfasts involving foods reflecting both sides of their background.
That multicultural home later influenced how the children discussed race, identity and belonging.
Joel’s Jewish heritage was therefore not simply a fact in a family tree.
It became part of how his children understood themselves.
Joel Smollett’s Legacy of Activism
The family’s activism is another important part of Joel’s legacy.
Joel and Janet met through civil-rights work.
Their children later became involved in their own causes.
The New York Times profile described the siblings’ long involvement with HIV/AIDS prevention, opposition to apartheid and later racial-justice movements.
Children do not automatically copy their parents’ beliefs.
But parents can teach them what kinds of questions matter.
Joel and Janet appear to have created a home where fairness, race and social responsibility were regular subjects rather than distant ideas.
The Smollett Family After Joel’s Death
Joel’s death did not end the family’s close connection.
The siblings continued supporting one another.
They worked on creative projects together.
Some appeared in television and film.
Jake and Jazz developed projects involving food and home design.
Jurnee continued acting.
Jussie continued music and entertainment work.
Jocqui developed a technology and business career.
People’s 2025 overview of the siblings described them as remaining tightly connected despite major challenges and different professional paths.
That closeness may be one of Joel and Janet’s strongest accomplishments as parents.
What Made Joel Smollett Different?
Joel’s story is interesting because he never needed to become famous himself.
He had famous children.
But he worked as a cable splicer.
He came from a Jewish family background.
He cared about civil rights.
He raised six children with Janet.
He worried about them.
He protected them.
Then those children went out into very different parts of the world.
Some became actors.
One became a chef.
Others pursued nonprofit, technology and business work.
Joel’s success as a father cannot be measured through box-office numbers.
It is visible through the family he helped build.
Final Thoughts on Joel Smollett
Joel Smollett Sr. was not the Hollywood star of the Smollett family.
He was something more private and foundational.
He was the father behind it.
Joel came from a Russian-Polish Jewish background and worked as a cable splicer at ITT in New York and later PacBell, according to his son Jussie. He met Janet Smollett in California’s Bay Area while the two were involved in civil-rights causes.
Together, they became parents to six children: Jojo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, Jake and Jocqui.
All six experienced entertainment as children, including appearing together on the ABC sitcom On Our Own.
As adults, they followed different paths while remaining an unusually close family.
Joel died from cancer on January 7, 2015, at approximately 58 years old—the same day Empire premiered and Jussie’s career entered a completely new stage.
His death was painful, but his influence did not disappear.
The Smollett siblings continued carrying elements of the household Joel helped create: creativity, multicultural identity, activism, loyalty and a strong attachment to family.
That is why Joel Smollett remains interesting today.
He was never the biggest name on a movie poster.
He was the man behind the family whose names eventually appeared on them.
FAQs About Joel Smollett
Who was Joel Smollett?
Joel Smollett Sr. was the father of Jojo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, Jake and Jocqui Smollett. He worked as a cable splicer and was involved in civil-rights causes.
Was Joel Smollett an actor?
No. Joel was not known as a professional actor. His children became involved in acting and entertainment.
What did Joel Smollett do for a living?
Jussie Smollett said his father worked as a cable splicer for ITT in New York and later PacBell.
Who was Joel Smollett’s wife?
Joel’s wife and the mother of his six children is Janet Smollett, an African-American woman from New Orleans.
How did Joel Smollett meet Janet?
Reports say Joel and Janet met in the San Francisco Bay Area while both were involved in civil-rights work.
How many children did Joel Smollett have?
Joel and Janet had six children.
What are Joel Smollett’s children’s names?
Their children are Jojo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, Jake and Jocqui Smollett.
Is Jussie Smollett Joel Smollett’s son?
Yes. Jussie is one of Joel and Janet’s six children.
Is Jurnee Smollett Joel Smollett’s daughter?
Yes. Jurnee is Joel and Janet’s daughter and the fourth of their six children.
Was Joel Smollett Jewish?
Yes. His children have publicly described him as Jewish, with Russian and Polish family roots.
What ethnicity were Joel Smollett’s children?
The children have both their father’s Jewish, Russian-Polish heritage and their mother’s African-American heritage.
Did all of Joel Smollett’s children act?
All six siblings appeared together on the 1994 ABC sitcom On Our Own, although not all continued acting as their primary adult career.
When did Joel Smollett die?
Joel died on January 7, 2015.
How old was Joel Smollett when he died?
He was reported to be 58 years old.
What was Joel Smollett’s cause of death?
Joel died after battling cancer. The specific type of cancer has not been reliably disclosed publicly.
Did Joel Smollett die on the same day Empire premiered?
Yes. Jussie said his father died on the morning of January 7, 2015, the same day Empire premiered.
What was Joel Smollett’s net worth?
There is no reliably verified public figure for Joel Smollett’s personal net worth.
Was Joel Smollett involved in civil rights activism?
Yes. Reliable reporting says Joel and Janet met in the Bay Area while working on civil-rights causes.
Why is Joel Smollett famous?
Joel is primarily remembered as the father of the six Smollett siblings, including actors Jussie Smollett and Jurnee Smollett, and for helping build the multicultural, creative and socially conscious family environment in which they grew up.
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