The fourth of six performing siblings, Jurnee Smollett was just what writer-director Kasi Lemmons had envisioned for the lead in her film: "a light-skinned black child . . . who could convey the nuances of a Creole child in the 60s". The young thespian pulled ahead of her brothers and sisters with her bracing portrayal of a ten-year-old who finds her father (Samuel L Jackson) in a compromising position in the finely-crafted independent "Eve's Bayou" (1997). She conveyed a maturity far beyond her years, yet also managed to retain a childlike innocence, impressing critics and audiences alike.
