Celebrities

The Untold Truth Of Jussie Smollet’s Mother – Janet Smollett

Published

4 weeks ago

March 25, 2024

• Janet Smollett is a mother of six children, including actor Jussie Smollett.
• She was an active member of the US Civil Rights movement when she was young.
• She passed on her values to her children, and they often celebrated holidays and milestones together.
• Jussie Smollett was accused of staging a fake hate crime against himself and filing a false police report.
• Janet has a net worth of around $250,000 as of early 2020.

Janet Smollett is a mother of actors, and came under the spotlight when her son and “Empire” breakout star, Jussie Smollett, staged a fake hate crime assault against himself and filed a false police report.

Contents

1 Early life and family
2 Personal life
3 The Smollett Children
- 3.1 Who is Jussie Smollett
- 3.2 The staged racist and homophobic attack against Jussie Smollett
4 Interesting facts and rumors
5 Appearance
6 Net worth, salary

Early life and family

Janet Faye Harris was born 27 November 1952, in New Orleans, Louisiana USA, of African-American ethnicity. There is no available information about her family and growing-up years, except that she was an active member of the US Civil Rights movement when she was young, along with Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, who were the founders of the Black Panther Party. It is said that one of her first mentors was Julian Bond, who was a leader of the civil rights movement. Her educational attainment hasn’t been revealed, but she is reported to be a teacher.

Personal life

Janet is from New Orleans and Joel Smollett from New York, and they met in the Bay Area where they campaigned for civil rights. Joel, born on 8 October 1956, is Jewish and the son of migrants from Russia and Poland. They were married and have six children – Jojo, Jazz, Jussie, Jurnie, Jake, and Jocqui. The family lived a nomadic lifestyle, and moved thirteen times from coast to coast across the US; however, it was not revealed why they lived this way and for how long, presumably to do with their support of the civil rights movement. Wherever they ended up staying, Janet had a ritual of turning planks of hard wood into a long table that usually took three days to finish.

This was where she served home-cooked meals to her kids, and where they celebrated holidays and other milestones. Another tradition that they have is that the kids performed during birthdays and mother’s day celebrations. Singing, dance-offs and poetry readings were the standard entertainment. Aside from creating happy memories as a family, all these events helped the kids grow closer.

She made sure that the kids also played sports, read poetry by Langston Hughes, and knew figures like Malcolm X. She taught her kids that they should never start a fight because they would get into trouble if they did. However, if someone picked on them, they should stand up for themselves. When they were young, they got a toy from their mother if they got into a fight defending themselves, a sibling, or a friend.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Brg45Yrhf8r/

She instilled in them a strong sense of justice – of speaking-up and fighting for what’s right and what they believed in.

Joel was not there while the kids were growing up, and it’s unclear what the reason was. There were some reports that said he left the family and came back into their lives later, but kept in touch. No one really knows for sure the why’s and how’s of it. However, not being there doesn’t mean that there was some animosity on the part of the kids, because they were vocal in expressing their love towards their father. On 7 January 2015, Joel lost his battle to cancer at the age of 58 – Jussie posted a photo on his Instagram of his dad carrying him when he was still very young and said, ‘…my family lost our king but we gained a righteous angel; showed us the deepest strength and dignity until your very last breath.

You are not just a fighter… You are the CHAMP.’ The youngest daughter, Jurnee, also posted on Instagram how she felt about her father, saying, ‘Love You Dad. Keep flying high up there. Till we meet again… Love your little girl.’

The Smollett Children

All six children have been acting since they were young, and there appeared to be no sibling rivalry. They were all cast in 1994 for the ABC sitcom, “On Our Own,” with the eldest at age 17 and the youngest only one year old at that time; it only ran for one season. They each went on to pursue acting, singing, producing, and other interests. After two decades, the Smollett siblings were able to work together again in 2016, for the Food Network, in a cooking show entitled, “Smollett Eats.”

They shared the family’s favorite recipes as they cooked and baked for a birthday party for kids, or a midnight BBQ for friends.

Who is Jussie Smollett

Jussie Smollett, the middle child of Janet and Joel, was born on 21 June 1982. He starred in movies such as “The Mighty Ducks” (1992) and “North” (1994) when he was younger, but became popular in 2015 when he was cast as Jamal Lyon in the hit Fox TV series, “Empire”, for which he co-wrote two songs on the Original Soundtrack from Season 1.” He signed a recording contract with Columbia Records that same year, and released his debut album, “Sum of My Music” in March 2018 through his own label. Interestingly, he came out as gay in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres soon after his character in the TV series came out.

The staged racist and homophobic attack against Jussie Smollett

On 29 January 2019, Jussie went to Chicago Police Department saying that he was a victim of a hate crime and had been assaulted. He said that as he walked home at around 2 a.m. in the affluent Streeterville neighborhood of downtown Chicago, two masked men physically assaulted him – beat him up, poured an unknown substance on him, and even put a noose around his neck. They also hurled homophobic and racial slurs at him, and yelled, ‘This is MAGA country,’ which refers to President Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ campaign slogan.

Upon investigation, the Chicago Police said that the attack might have been staged, as the masked men turned out to be Nigerian brothers, who previously worked as extras in “Empire,” and claimed that they were paid $3,500 by Mr. Smollett to assault him.

Jussie Smollett

The brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo, were born in the US, were struggling financially, and each declared bankruptcy in September of 2016. Apparently, Jussie approached Abel and wanted him and his brother to help him stage the attack. They said that Jussie orchestrated everything; he gave instructions on what to do and what to say, and where the assault should take place to be caught on camera. After being detained and questioned by the police, they weren’t charged and are acting as co-operating witnesses to this case.

The police said Jussie wanted to stir up publicity because he was upset over his salary as an actor on “Empire,” which was reportedly between $65,000 and $100,000 per episode, however, according to Fox, Jussie had not previously raised objections about his salary.

According to Abel, Jussie was also dissatisfied with how his studio handled the death threat that he received on 22 January. The letter says, ‘Smollett Jussie you will die black,’ followed by anti-gay slurs, and it was also laced with a powder that turned out to be crushed ibuprofen, which was turned over to the FBI. The police said that Jussie sent this letter to himself to get attention.

Jussie Smollett’s lawyers say that he’s innocent, but the Chicago PD gave a detailed report on how Jussie staged the attack. In February 2019, the Cook County State Attorney’s Office charged him with 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, but the charges against him were dropped in March, and his record has been wiped clean according to his lawyers. He forfeited his $10,000 bond payment, and would carry out community service.

March 2, 2018…Debut album… #SumOfMyMusic pic.twitter.com/chnmPrQSYw

— Jussie Smollett (@JussieSmollett) February 21, 2018

Chicago Police and the city mayor stand by their case against Smollett. The police ordered Jussie to pay $130,000 to cover the cost of manpower used in the investigation, and when he refused, they sued him for three times that amount. A special prosecutor was named in October to investigate why the charges were dropped.

There was an outpouring of support from a lot of people, including his “Empire” co-stars, celebrities Steve Harvey and Viola Davis, politicians such as Senator Kamala Harris, and fans after the initial report of the attack. People were conflicted on what to believe after the result of the police investigations was released to the public. Most of the support and sympathy for Jussie turned to disappointment and anger; the family stayed by Jussie’s side and fully supports him. The producers of “Empire” reportedly said that Smollett’s character would be removed from the final two episodes of this season.

Interesting facts and rumors

Janet is great friends with Angela Davis, an American activist and author, who celebrates Mother’s Day with the family
Janet is rumored to be a cousin of US Senator Kamala Harris, because her maiden name is Harris, but they are not related
She is a great cook and her recipes even made it to a cookbook entitled, “The Family Table: Recipes and Moments from a Nomadic Life,” by Jazz, Jussie, Jurnee, and Jake.
She is Jussie’s and Jurnee’s acting coach
Janet is a fan of “Empire”, and calls Jussie every Wednesday to talk about the episode for that week
She is a fan of Whitney Houston

Appearance

There were often photos of Janet posted on her children’s IG accounts, and she looked quite fit, and dressed as fashionably as her daughters. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She is 5ft 6in (1.6m) tall and weighs around 112lbs (51kgs). Her vital statistics haven’t been disclosed.

Net worth, salary

There is no information about any business that she owns or her work, although, there were some reports that she is a teacher. It was not revealed how much she received from the cookbook that was published and released in 2018 with her recipes on it, but sources estimated her net worth to be around $250,000 as of early 2020.

Celebrities

Where is Michael Peterson now? The True Story of His Wife Death

Published

24 mins ago

April 23, 2024

Daniel Wanburg

Contents

1 Who is Michael Peterson?
2 Education and early life
3 Michael’s career
4 Love life and marriages
5 Kathleen’s death and Michael’s trial
6 Interesting facts and hobbies
7 Height, eyes and wealth

Who is Michael Peterson?

American novelist and convicted killer Michael Iver Peterson was born in Nashville, Tennessee USA, on 23 October 1943, meaning that Scorpio’s his zodiac sign. He’s probably known best for having been convicted of killing his second wife Kathleen Peterson; Michael was sentenced to spend his life behind bars without the possibility of parole on 10 October 2003, but was released on house arrest after $300,000 bail was paid in 2011.

Image source

Education and early life

Michael was raised alongside his sister Ann Christensen and their brothers John and Bill in Nashville, by their mother Eleanor (nee Bartolino) and father Eugene Iver Peterson; not a lot else is known about Michael’s family, because he respects their privacy.

He was mostly focused on his education while attending a local high school, while some of the activities he was into the most included creative writing, playing soccer and dancing. Michael matriculated in 1962, and then enrolled at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina; he was the editor of the university’s newspaper “The Chronicle” during his four years there, and was the president of the fraternity Sigma Nu. Michael graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in political science in 1965, and then began taking classes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Law School.

Michael’s career

In 1965, Michael began working for the US Department of Defense, researching arguments in support of the US military involvement in Vietnam. The year 1968 saw Michael join the US Marine Corps, and he served in Vietnam for three years prior to being honorably discharged as a captain, after he was hit by a car and left with a disability.

In 1999, Michael claimed that he had been presented with two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with Valor and a Silver Star for his service in the Marine Corps, but the newspaper “News & Observer” later revealed that no records showed that Michael had won any Purple Hearts.

He and his first wife lived in Germany after he was discharged, then Michael moved back to Durham in 1987.

https://twitter.com/FukumiKimoto/status/1584666483447443457

He’s published three novels, all of which related to his time in Vietnam. His first novel “The Immortal Dragon” was published in 1983, followed by “A Time of War” in 1990, and his third “A Bitter Peace” in 2020.

Michael also co-wrote the biographical book “Operation Broken Reed”, together with Arthur L. Boyd, and “Charlie Two Shoes and the Marines of Love Company” with David Perlmutt. He also spent some time working as a columnist for the newspaper “The Herald-Sun”.

Love life and marriages

Michael married his first wife Patricia Sue in 1965, following his graduation; she taught at an elementary school on Rhein-Main Air Base in West Germany, where Michael was stationed. They had two children together, Todd and Clayton.

While living in Germany, Michael and Patricia befriended the Ratliff family, which comprised George and Elizabeth, and their children Martha and Margaret. After George and Elizabeth died in 1985, Michael became their children’s guardian, but he and Patricia divorced two years later, with their children staying with Patricia, while Michael, Martha and Margaret moved together to Durham. Todd and Clayton also eventually came to live with Michael.

He met successful business executive Kathleen Atwater in 1989 – they moved in together in the same year, married in 1997, and he became stepfather to Kathleen’s daughter Caitlin. The marriage ended when Kathleen died on 9 December 2001.

Kathleen’s death and Michael’s trial

Michael called the police on 9 December 2001, claiming that Kathleen was lying down on the floor unconscious, and that she had probably fallen down the stairs.

Toxicology reports showed that Kathleen had drunk some alcohol and taken the prescription drug Valium, while the autopsy showed that she had died two hours after the injuries that she had suffered. Kathleen’s sister Candace Zamperini, as well as her daughter Caitlin both believed that Michael had nothing to do with Kathleen’s death, but they changed their mind after learning that Michael’s bisexual.

Michael was accused of murder, as the autopsy showed that no fall could’ve resulted in Kathleen’s injuries; the prosecution claimed that Kathleen found out about Michael’s gay life, which he had tried to hide, and that he wanted to take her $1.5 million life insurance. It was then revealed that Michael’s friend from Germany Elizabeth Ratliff had also died from similar injuries as Kathleen, and was also found at the foot of her staircase; a second autopsy of Elizabeth’s buried body was ordered, and her cause of death was then officially changed to ‘homicide’. Michael wasn’t charged with Elizabeth’s murder.

He was found guilty of killing his wife on 10 October 2003, and sentenced to spend life behind bars. Michael’s lawyers filed a motion for a new trial on 12 November 2008, but it was denied. It was in the second half of 2009 that a new theory about Kathleen’s death surfaced; it was claimed that an owl had attacked her outside, causing some of her injuries, and that she then fell down and hit her head after running from the owl inside the house. The investigators found two microscopic owl feathers when re-examining Kathleen’s hair.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper began investigating the SBI analyst Duane Deaver in the first half of 2010, and Duane was suspended in August of the same year; he was the lead witness against Michael at his trial, and it was revealed that Duane had presented false evidence in 34 cases. Due to these new findings, Michael was released on a $300,000 bail on 16 December 2011, and placed under house arrest.

He entered the Alford plea on 24 February 2017, and was sentenced to seven years in jail, but because he had already served more than that, he was thus released.

The documentary series about the entire case, “The Staircase” was released in October 2004, while its sequel “The Staircase 2: The Last Chance” premiered in November 2012.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Michael’s been staying away from the media’s attention since he was freed in 2017, with the exception of when he published his novel “A Bitter Peace” in 2020.

He can rarely be seen spending time outdoors, as he enjoys the peace of his home; it’s been revealed that Michael no longer has a staircase at his house.

He was physically highly active during his 20s, 30s and 40s, as he worked out at the gym and played a number of sports.

Michael’s a huge fan of American actor and moviemaker Clint Eastwood, while some of his favorite movies include “The Outlaw Josey Wales”, “High Plains Drifter” and “Play Misty for Me”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Michael’s age is 79. He has brown eyes and grey hair, is 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighs around 150lbs (68kgs).

Michael’s net worth’s been estimated at over $100,000, as of April 2023.

Celebrities

Lina Medina: How a Five-Year-Old Girl Became a Mother in 1939

Published

17 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Daniel Wanburg

Contents

1 Who is Lina Medina?
2 Family and pregnancy
3 The boy’s father
4 Lina’s career
5 YouTube videos
6 Love life and relationships
7 Interesting facts and hobbies
8 Height, eyes and wealth

Who is Lina Medina?

Peruvian Lina Marcela Medina de Jurado was born in Ticrapo, Castrovirreyna Province, Peru, on 23 September 1933, making Libra her zodiac sign. She’s probably only known for being the youngest mother in human history, as she was less than six years old on 14 May 1939, when she gave birth to her son. Lina was a few months away from turning five when she was impregnated, and it’s believed that it was the rare condition ‘precocious puberty’ that led to this.

Image source

Family and pregnancy

Lina and her eight siblings were raised in Ticrapo, by their mother Victoria Losea who was a housewife, and father Tiburelo Medina who was a silversmith.

She was five years and several months old when her father drove her to a hospital in Pisco; the doctors initially believed that Lina had a tumor, due to her abdominal size, but it was then revealed that she was seven months pregnant. Many countries were interested in covering the story; the newspaper “San Antonio Light” reported that a midwife association in Peru wanted Lina to be admitted to a national maternity hospital, while an American movie studio had offered $5,000 for filming rights.

Lina gave birth to her son Gerardo via caesarean section, and the doctors then learned that her sexual organs were fully mature; Gerardo weighed 6lbs (2.7kgs), and was named after Lina’s doctor,

The boy’s father

The identity of Gerardo’s father remains undisclosed. It was widely believed in Peru that Lina had been raped, and her father was even arrested on suspicion that he had done it, but was released as no evidence had been provided to support this. Lina hasn’t revealed the name of her son’s father to this day, and it’s believed that she might not actually know it.

Although the boy lived with Lina and believed that she was his sister, he was eventually raised by Lina’s doctor Gerardo Lozada; he had no health issues while growing up, but was 40 when he died from bone marrow disease in 1979.

Lina Medina gave birth when she was 5 years 7 month old.

She started seeing her period when she was just 8 months & grew breasts from age 4. She is still alive today, No one knows the baby's father till date. pic.twitter.com/oJvnwIBwZY

— Etoniru (@waynetipsy) January 23, 2020

Lina’s career

Lina matriculated from local high school in 1952, and although she hasn’t spoken about her further education, it’s believed that she studied at a medical school, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1956.

Lina was then employed at Dr. Gerardo Lozada’s clinic as a secretary, and was thus also able to spend more time with her son.

YouTube videos

Numerous videos about Lina have been uploaded onto YouTube by various users, with most of these covering her strange pregnancy, while others aim to provide additional details about her later life. We’re going to mention three of the most popular YouTube vides about Lina, which’ve contributed to her internet popularity.

Her #1 video “World’s Youngest Mother, Age 5 Lina Medina” has been watched more than 20 million times since 19 April 2014, when it was uploaded by Worlds Biggest; it aims to cover Lina’s pregnancy, as well as her son’s later life.

Lina’s second most popular video – “Top 5 Youngest Mother In The World” – was uploaded by 100M on 6 November 2020, and has been watched over 6.4 million times; it covers Lina’s pregnancy, as well as the pregnancies of four other girls who were less than 10 years old when they gave birth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FzNJs2J8S4

Her #3 video, “Así luce hoy la madre más joven de la historia. Tenía 5 años” was uploaded by Badabun on 7 January 2018, and has since been watched close to six million times; it’s a Spanish-language video about Lina, her pregnancy and her son’s (supposed) father.

Love life and relationships

Lina’s love life remains a mystery to this day, and she’s even been able to keep the identity of her son’s father hidden.

She married non-celebrity Peruvian Raul Jurado sometime in the ‘70s, and gave birth to their son in 1972 – Lina had a normal pregnancy, and didn’t have problems giving birth. She hasn’t spoken about how and when she and Raul met, though most of her fans believe that he was her high school sweetheart; it’s also believed that Raul passed away sometime in the first half of the 2010s, but as Lina’s staying away from the media’s attention, this hasn’t been confirmed.

There are also many people on the internet who claim that they know Lina, and that she and Raul divorced in the second half of the ‘80s; these same people claim that she met another man when she was 55, and that the two eventually married, but none of this has been addressed by her.

Lina seems to be married to Raul Jurado as of April 2023, and they have a son together, while she also has a son to whom she gave birth when she was five.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Lina’s never been interested in making money out of her story, and has turned down numerous offers from newspapers and magazines, including “Reuters” in 2002.

It’s still today believed by many doctors and experts that Lina’s pregnancy was a hoax, but a number of doctors have still been able to prove that it was true, thanks to X rays and biopsies; the only photo that can be found on the internet about the entire case features Lina when she was seven and a half months pregnant, and was standing naked.

She grew up being physically active and took part in various activities while attending a local high school, while she was also an avid dancer.

Lina was passionate about travelling during her 20s and 30s, but then preferred the peace of her home over flying to other countries.

Height, eyes and wealth

Lina’s 89 years old. She has brown eyes and medium long grey hair, is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighs around 130lbs (60kgs).

Lina’s net worth’s been estimated at over $100,000, as of April 2023.

Celebrities

The Untold Truth of Emma Watson’s Brother – Alex Watson

Published

1 week ago

April 15, 2024

Olivia Clarke

Contents

1 Who is Alex Watson?
2 The Wealth of Alex Watson
3 Early Life and Cameo Appearances
4 More Cameos and Modeling
5 Burberry Campaign
6 Personal Life
7 Sister – Emma Watson
- 7.1 Emma Watson’s Recent Projects

Who is Alex Watson?

The Wealth of Alex Watson

As of early-2020, Alex Watson has a net worth estimated to be Alexander Watson was born on 15 December 1992, in Paris, France, and is best known for being the brother of actress Emma Watson who found fame in the “Harry Potter” film franchise, playing the role of Hermione Granger. The siblings appeared together in a Burberry fashion campaign, and he’s also made several cameo appearances in the “Harry Potter” films.

over $1 million, earned through success in his various endeavors, including modeling and acting projects.

He may benefit from the success of his sister, as Emma has a net worth estimated to be over $80 million.

Early Life and Cameo Appearances

While Alex was born in Paris, the family later moved to England where he and Emma grew up. He lived mostly away from the spotlight, and his skill with the French language started to decline as he became more accustomed to living in the UK. His life started to shift when Emma desired to pursue an acting career. While he didn’t have the same interests, he supported her endeavors as she began training, and appearing in a few stage productions.

Emma’s fame increased significantly after she was cast in the “Harry Potter” film series as one of the lead characters, Hermione Granger. While the producers didn’t initially think that the film would be the worldwide phenomenon it is today, many of its cast members would grow close like family.

More Cameos and Modeling

The crew also involved other family members such as Alex, who would appear in a cameo as a student in the first film “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”. The film is based on the JK Rowling novel of the same name, following the story of the titular Harry Potter as he goes on magical adventures with his closest friends.

The first installment was a huge critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2001.

They later followed it up by continuing the book series, with “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, and Alex had another cameo in the film as a student. The 2002 film is based on the book of the same name, and continues the adventures of Harry Potter during his second year as a student of Hogwarts. In the film, he discovers that the Chamber of Secrets in the school has been opened, leading to a monster being set loose. The film, like its predecessor, was an enormous success, becoming the second highest-grossing film of the year, only behind “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”.

For the next two “Harry Potter” films, Alex was busy with other projects so he didn’t make an appearance. He later returned to make a short cameo in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” – in that installment, Harry Potter and his best friends go through their fifth year at Hogwarts, and deal with the aftermath of the return of feared wizard Lord Voldemort.

Burberry Campaign

In 2010, media outlets reported that Alex would be partnering his sister in a campaign for the fashion brand Burberry. He didn’t initially plan to model for the brand, but while he was looking for something to wear for a “Harry Potter” premiere, he was approached by the staff who quickly signed him for a modeling gig.

Alex Watson

Emma was there to help him as she has more experience with modeling projects. He notes that there is a lot of tension during auditions for models, as everyone is on edge trying to get a job. It didn’t seem that he continued with modeling after that gig, as he expressed no interest in being overly concerned about his physical appearance.

Personal Life

Following Alex’s appearance with Burberry, there has been no news about him. He’s been more private about his career and personal endeavors so nothing is known in terms of any romances. There are social media pages under his name, though they appear to be fan accounts, and unrelated to him.

His sister is known to be a universalist though it is not known if he shares the same beliefs.

Sister – Emma Watson

Despite having only acted in plays before her big-screen debut, Emma Watson flourished in her role as Hermione Granger, launching her to international star status. While working on the franchise, she gained numerous other projects, and after the end of the “Harry Potter” films, she went on to star in other projects.

In the 2010s, she appeared in notable films such as “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, “The Bling Ring”, and “This is the End”.

In 2017, she played the character Belle in the live-action adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast”, and also appeared in the film adaptation of “Little Women”, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Emma Watson’s Recent Projects

In 2014, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts rewarded Emma with the British Artist of the Year Award. She hasn’t yet taken any new film projects following her appearance in “Little Women”. While working on her acting career, she continued to pursue her education, and completed a degree in English literature in 2014.

She’s also been doing modeling work, such as for campaigns with Lancome and Burberry.

Emma’s been very vocal about issues of human rights and gender equality – she is a UN Women Goodwill ambassador, and is responsible for helping launch the campaign HeForShe, the goal being for genders to work towards having gender equality. She’s been very active in work for women’s rights, recently establishing a legal advice line to help women who’ve suffered sexual harassment at the workplace.