Jharrel Jerome

About

Jharrel Jerome (born October 9, 1997) is an American actor. He made his film debut in Barry Jenkins’s drama film Moonlight (2016), and gained prominence for his portrayal of Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay’s Netflix miniseries When They See Us (2019), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Jerome has since starred as a 13 foot tall boy in Boots Riley’s miniseries I’m a Virgo (2023) and as wrestler Anthony Robles in the sports biopic film Unstoppable (2024).

Jharrel Jerome was born on October 9, 1997 in The Bronx, New York City, and was raised in the neighbourhood. He is of Dominican and Haitian descent. and grew up in a close-knit family with parents whom he described as “loving”.
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.

Shortly after Jerome enrolled as an undergraduate at Ithaca College, he was cast in his first professional acting role in the 2016 independent film…