Jharrel Jerome was born on October 9, 1997[1] in The Bronx, New York City, and was raised in the neighbourhood.[2][3] He is of Dominican and Haitian descent.[4][5] and grew up in a close-knit family with parents whom he described as "loving".[6]
His mother suggested he pursue acting when he was in eighth grade, after which he joined the Riverdale Children's Theatre, a local youth theater organization. He attended and graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and commuted to Manhattan each day by train.[7][8]
Career
Acting
Shortly after Jerome enrolled as an undergraduate at Ithaca College, he was cast in his first professional acting role in the 2016 independent film Moonlight, as young Kevin.[9]A.O. Scott wrote in The New York Times that he was "excellent" in the role.[10] Director Barry Jenkins said about Jerome, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, "When you watch Jharrel in that movie, he's not a guy who's been over-rehearsing. That's a dude learning by doing. It's amazing."[9]
Since 2017, Jerome has appeared in the Audience series Mr. Mercedes.[2] He auditioned for the role of young Korey Wise in the 2019 Netflix miniseries When They See Us, based on the Central Park jogger case.[8] After his audition the series' director, Ava DuVernay, asked him to read the lines for adult Korey Wise, and he was subsequently cast in both roles.[8] Jerome grew close to Wise throughout filming, and said in a Los Angeles Times interview, "He's my brother now. I look up to him. I look up to his courage. He's taught me so much on how to be strong."[9] Following his performance in the series, Jharrel became the first Afro-Latino and Dominican to win an acting Emmy.
On September 24, 2020, Jerome released his debut single "For Real", featuring Bronx rapper Kemba and produced by duo Take a Daytrip.[12][13] The song was released with a music video directed by Spence Hord.[12] Jerome followed up on August 25, 2022, with "Someone I'm Not", which came with a music video following a day in Jerome's life at home, on a film set, and in a recording studio.[14]
His third single, "Chinatown", was released on May 1, 2023, with a lyric video and the announcement of an upcoming project called Someone I'm Not set for a 2023 release.[15] On August 23, Jerome posted a video on his Instagram of himself which included a snippet of a new song and announced Rap Pack, set for an August 30 release by Sony Music.[16][17]Rap Pack is the first part of Someone I'm Not, to be released as a four-part series.[17]
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