Jake Smollett

Jake Smollett was born on July 29, 1989 in New York City to Joel and Janet Smollett. He has five siblings: Jussie, Jazz, Jurnee, Jocqui and Jojo. His family, which has a deep-rooted foundation in acting, is of mixed Russian-Jewish, Polish, Native American, Irish, Creole, and African-American descent. All the Smollett siblings were introduced to the show biz when quite young. In fact, Jake was just a little baby when he first appeared onscreen in a diaper ad! The siblings are very close to each other and often collaborate on their acting assignments. Coming to his romantic relations, Jake is a very private person and does not share details about his dating life with the media.

Given his family background, it would seem like Jake Smollett was always meant for acting glory! Born into a family firmly rooted in the acting profession, he was thrust into the limelight even before he could walk or talk. However, it would be wrong to assume that Jake is successful today only because of his family’s acting history. While he definitely got the required impetus from his parents at a young age, it is only due to his own talent and passion for the profession of acting that he has come this far. Along with his five siblings, Jake appeared in the ABC sitcom ‘On Our Own’ which ran from September 1994 to April 1995. The series proved to be a popular one and brought considerable fame to the Smollett siblings. Following this success, Jake acted as Poe Batiste in the critically acclaimed drama film ‘Eve's Bayou,’ which marked Kasi Lemmons’ directorial debut. His role as Noser in the television series ‘The Middleman’ (2008–2009) was also much appreciated.

Apart from acting, Jake Smollett loves to cook and often whips up elegant dishes in the family kitchen. Taking forward his passion for cooking, he, along with his siblings, cook family style meals every Saturday on ‘Smollett Eats,’ a cookery show on Food Network. His recipes are also featured on his official website, http://www.jakesmollett.com/. If you love his recipes, then you would be delighted to know that in the near future Jake will be joining Rachael Ray on ‘The Rachael Ray Show’ for cooking segments!