Joel Smollett: Family, Work, Heritage, and Lasting Influence

Have you ever searched for Joel Smollett and wondered how he fits into the famous Smollett family? His children became known through acting, television, food, music, and other creative work. Joel himself lived far away from celebrity life.

That contrast is what makes his story interesting. He worked a regular job, raised a large family with his wife Janet, and helped create a home where culture, education, creativity, and family ties mattered. Years later, several of his children became familiar names in American entertainment.

In this article, we will look at Joel Smollett’s family, work, heritage, role as a father, connection to On Our Own, and the influence he left behind. The focus stays on the parts of his life that are supported by strong reporting and direct family accounts.

Quick Bio

Full Name	Joel Smollett Sr.
Known For	Father of the six Smollett siblings
Spouse	Janet Smollett
Children	JoJo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, Jake, and Jocqui Smollett
Heritage	Russian-Polish Jewish
Work	Cable splicer at ITT in New York and later PacBell
Family Connection	Father of actors Jussie and Jurnee Smollett
Died	January 7, 2015

Who Is Joel Smollett?

Joel Smollett was the father of six children who later became known through entertainment and creative work. He was married to Janet Smollett, and together they raised JoJo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, Jake, and Jocqui.

He was not an actor building a public career of his own. His son Jussie described him as a hardworking cable splicer who worked for ITT in New York and later for PacBell. That detail gives a clearer picture of the family before Hollywood became a major part of their lives.

Joel also brought Jewish heritage into a household that included Janet’s African American background. Jurnee Smollett has spoken about growing up in a blended family where both sides of that identity were present. The result was a home where the children were exposed to more than one cultural tradition from an early age.

For many readers, Joel is easiest to understand through the family he helped raise. His life sits behind the story of six siblings who learned to work together, stay close, and eventually build very different careers.

A Working Father Behind a Creative Family

One of the clearest details about Joel’s working life comes from Jussie Smollett.

According to Out, Jussie said his father supported the family as a cable splicer, first at ITT in New York and later at PacBell. He also remembered his father as protective and deeply concerned about his children.

That matters because the Smollett family story can look very Hollywood from the outside. Several of the children acted when they were young, and six siblings later appeared together on a network sitcom. But the family did not begin as a show-business household built around fame.

Joel’s work was practical. It helped support a family of eight. At the same time, Janet helped guide the children’s education and early creative interests. The family structure mixed everyday work, travel, reading, performance, and a strong sense of togetherness.

The siblings have often spoken about family as the center of their childhood. That makes Joel’s role easier to see. He was part of the stable base behind children who were entering an industry that can be demanding even for adults.

The Smollett Home Mixed Black and Jewish Traditions

Joel’s background also shaped how the Smollett children understood identity.

Jussie described his father as a Russian-Polish Jew. Jurnee has separately spoken about her father being Jewish and her mother being Black. She recalled that their home included celebrations connected to both sides of the family.

That meant the children were not growing up inside one narrow cultural lane. They were exposed to Jewish holidays as well as Black cultural traditions. Jurnee has said their mother made a point of honoring both sides of the family.

This part of Joel’s story helps explain why identity has often appeared in the public work and interviews of his children. Their family experience was multicultural before any of them became famous enough to be asked about it.

It also gives readers a better answer to a common question about the Smollett family’s background. Their father was Jewish, while their mother is African American. The children grew up with both parts of that family history.

Raising Six Children Who Stayed Close

The six Smollett siblings are JoJo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, Jake, and Jocqui. Their careers did not all follow the same path, but the family bond has remained a major part of how they talk about one another.

A 1994 Los Angeles Times profile captured the family before the children had built their adult careers. According to the Los Angeles Times, the siblings described themselves as unusually close and said they had been taught to avoid pointless conflict with one another.

The same profile showed how normal family life and television work existed side by side. The children talked about sports, books, music, and school while also working on a sitcom set. Their mother was closely involved in their careers, and their father visited the set when he could.

That small detail is useful. Joel was not presented as a Hollywood manager trying to make himself visible. He appears instead as a father who remained connected to what his children were doing while continuing his own work.

The family also spent years moving around the United States. In later interviews about their family cookbook, the siblings remembered road trips, frequent moves, and meals together as some of the strongest parts of their childhood. Those memories help show why food, family gatherings, and shared projects kept returning in their adult work.

How On Our Own Became a Family Milestone

In 1994, the Smollett children became even more visible when six siblings appeared together on the ABC sitcom On Our Own.

The series starred JoJo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, Jake, and Jocqui. They played members of the fictional Jerrico family. The show lasted one season, but it remains unusual because so many real siblings worked together in the same network television series.

For Joel and Janet, this meant parenting children who were working in entertainment at the same time. The Los Angeles Times profile from the period makes clear that the family tried to keep ordinary routines around the work. Reading, sports, family meals, and time together still mattered.

That balance is one of the strongest parts of Joel’s story. He did not become famous because his children were on television. Instead, his importance came from the family setting around them.

The show also gave audiences an early look at siblings who would later go in different directions. Jurnee developed a long acting career. Jussie became widely known through Empire. Jake moved into food and television. Jazz worked in acting, producing, and lifestyle projects. Jocqui later moved into business and technology work. JoJo also worked in entertainment and behind the scenes.

Their adult careers are different, but On Our Own remains the moment when the family first became visible together.

Joel Smollett’s Influence on His Children

It is easy to measure a celebrity parent by screen credits, money, or public appearances. Joel’s influence shows up differently.

Jussie spoke about him as protective and hardworking. In the 1994 family profile, the siblings talked about being raised to stay close rather than compete with one another. Later family projects continued to center on the same themes: food, home, shared memories, and sibling connection.

That pattern did not disappear when the children grew older.

The six siblings worked together again on The Family Table, a cookbook built around family recipes and childhood memories. Jazz and Jake later worked together on lifestyle television. Other siblings continued supporting one another in public and private life.

No single parent can take credit for every adult choice a child makes. Still, the consistency of the Smolletts’ family-centered projects says something important about the home Joel and Janet created. Their children did not only share a last name. They kept returning to the idea of family as something worth building around.

His Relationship With Jussie Smollett

Jussie Smollett has given some of the clearest public memories of his father.

In his Out interview, Jussie described Joel as a man who worried about his children and wanted to protect them. He even joked about how his father would have reacted to paparazzi and the new attention that came with Empire.

That interview was published after Joel’s death, which gives the comments extra weight. Jussie was not describing a distant figure from childhood. He was talking about someone he still wanted to call when fame became strange or overwhelming.

Joel died on January 7, 2015. That was also the day Empire premiered on Fox, changing Jussie’s career almost overnight.

Jussie later described that timing as deeply painful. The same day that millions of viewers were meeting him as Jamal Lyon, he was grieving his father. He said the loss kept him grounded in family and love as his public life changed.

It is one of the clearest examples of Joel’s place in his son’s life. Fame arrived, but the family loss was bigger.

The Smollett Family After Joel’s Death

Joel did not live to see every later chapter in his children’s careers. Still, the family identity he helped build remained visible.

People has described the six siblings as a close family whose members moved into acting, food, television, production, business, and technology. Their paths are not identical, but collaboration has continued.

The family cookbook is one good example. It was not simply a collection of recipes. It connected food with memories of growing up together, traveling, and gathering around the family table.

Those stories make Joel’s legacy feel less abstract. He is remembered through routines the children carried forward. Work mattered. Culture mattered. Meals mattered. Staying connected mattered.

For readers who first discover his name through Jussie or Jurnee, that is the larger story. Joel Smollett was not famous in the same way his children became famous. His place in the family came before the red carpets and major roles.

Why People Still Search for Joel Smollett

Interest in Joel usually begins with one of his children.

Someone watches Jurnee Smollett in a film and searches her parents. Another person looks up Jussie Smollett’s family after seeing Empire. Others remember On Our Own and realize the young cast members were real siblings.

Joel’s name appears at the center of all those searches because he connects the family history.

His story also answers questions that celebrity profiles often miss. The Smollett children came from a working household. Their father held a regular job. Their parents raised six children with a mix of Black and Jewish traditions. The siblings entered entertainment young, but their family life remained a major part of how they described themselves.

That context is more useful than turning Joel into a celebrity he never was.

Final Thoughts

He is best known today because of the family he helped raise. He and Janet had six children, and several of them became familiar faces in American entertainment. But his own life stayed much closer to work, home, and family than to fame.

His son remembered him as a hardworking cable splicer and an overprotective father. His children grew up in a home shaped by both Black and Jewish traditions. Long before their adult careers took different paths, the siblings were already working together and describing themselves as a close family.

Joel died on January 7, 2015, just as Jussie Smollett’s role on Empire was about to bring a new level of attention to the family name. More than a decade later, the strongest picture of him still comes through his children: a working father whose influence stayed with them after they became adults.

For more about the other parent at the center of this family story, read our profile of Janet Smollett on LakewoodScoop.co.uk.

FAQs

Who was Joel Smollett?

Joel Smollett was the husband of Janet Smollett and the father of JoJo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, Jake, and Jocqui Smollett. He worked as a cable splicer and lived outside the celebrity spotlight while his children later built careers in entertainment and other fields.

What did Joel Smollett do for work?

Jussie Smollett said his father worked as a cable splicer for ITT in New York and later for PacBell.

Was Joel Smollett Jewish?

Yes. Jussie described his father as a Russian-Polish Jew, and Jurnee Smollett has also spoken publicly about growing up with a Jewish father and a Black mother.

How many children did Joel and Janet Smollett have?

They had six children: JoJo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, Jake, and Jocqui Smollett.

Did Joel Smollett appear on On Our Own?

No. Six of his children appeared together in the 1994 ABC sitcom On Our Own. Joel was their father, not a cast member.

When did Joel Smollett die?

He died on January 7, 2015, the same day Empire premiered on Fox. Jussie later spoke about losing his father as his career was entering a new stage.

How is Joel Smollett connected to Jurnee Smollett?

Joel was Jurnee Smollett’s father. Jurnee has spoken about growing up in a blended Black and Jewish family and about the cultural traditions that shaped her childhood.

Is JoJo Smollett the same person as Joel Smollett?

No. JoJo Smollett is Joel’s eldest son. Joel Smollett was the father of the six siblings.