Renée Felice Smith Explained

Renée Felice Smith
Birth Date:16 January 1985
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Occupation:Actress, producer
Television:
Years Active:2008–present

Renée Felice Smith (born January 16, 1985)[1] is an American actress. She is known for portraying Nell Jones on , since joining the series in 2010 and played the character until 2019 when she left the show after season 11 but did appear in a guest in the season 12 premiere.

Early life

Smith was born in New York City of mixed Irish-Italian descent.[2] She attended Patchogue-Medford High School on Long Island, New York, as well as the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, graduating with honors, double majoring in journalism and minoring in history,[3] Stonestreet Studios Conservatory and the Lee Strasberg Institute.[4]

While at NYU, she co-created the student dance troupe, Pulse Dance Project.

Career

Smith's first acting job was a national television commercial for Danone yogurt in 1991 at age six.

Smith started off in theatre, having made her debut in Second Stage's Wildflower.[5] She was cast for a sitcom on The CW directed by Amy Sherman-Palladino, tentatively titled Wyoming, but only a pilot was produced since the project was not picked up by the network. The pilot movie is called The Wyoming Story.[6]

In 2010, Smith was cast to appear as Nell Jones on . Initially planned to be only a recurring character, Smith's role was expanded to main cast after she impressed the producers with her acting.[7] Following the show's twelfth season, she left the show.[8] Smith reprised the role of Nell as a guest star in the series finale that aired in May 2023.[9]

In 2011, Smith appeared as a supporting character, Missy, in Detachment.

In 2012, Smith began co-creating a children's book series based on her French bulldog, Hugo.

In April 2014, Smith starred as Frankie in Code Academy, a short sci-fi production in which young men and women are kept apart until a certain age.[10]

In April 2015, Smith starred in and produced the short film, Baby, which premiered at SXSW Film Festival.

Smith appeared in the March 1, 2017, episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia titled "A Cricket's Tale".

Smith and C.A. Gabriel co-directed their first feature film, The Relationtrip (2017), which premiered at SXSW in March 2017.[11]

In 2020, Smith and her partner, Chris Gabriel, sold a television pilot to FX.

March 2021, Smith and her partner, Chris Gabriel, released their first picture book entitled, "Hugo and the Impossible Thing" inspired by their real life French Bulldog, Hugo.[12]

Filmography

Television roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
2008Viralcom Auditioner Episode: "I Can't Believe I'm BritGirl16!"
2010–2021; 2023Nell JonesMain role; debuted in season 2, episode 4
Guest star; Episode: "New Beginnings, Part Two"
2010The Wyoming StoryDinah ThorpeTV movie; unsold series pilot episode, "The Damn Thorpes"
2015The Price Is RightHerself December 9, 2015[13]
2017It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaBelle Episode: "A Cricket's Tale"
Film roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
2011DetachmentMissy
2014Nanny Cam Jess Also known as Sitter Cam
Code AcademyFrankie Short film
2015Baby Naomi Short film; also as executive producer
2017The Relationtrip Beck Also executive producer, writer and director
Winner: Dallas International Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Narrative Feature Competition
Nominated:
  • Nashville Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize Bridgestone Narrative Feature Competition (shared with C.A. Gabriel)
  • SXSW Film Festival's SXSW Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award (shared with C.A. Gabriel)
  • SXSW Film Festival's SXSW Gamechanger Award
That Thing with the Cat! Emma

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Celebrity birthdays for the week of Jan. 15-21. January 15, 2017 . WTOP . June 24, 2017. en-US.
  2. Web site: Adesina . Aisha . Renée Felice Smith bio . www.legit.ng . June 30, 2020 . December 4, 2020.
  3. Web site: Who's in bed with - Renée Felice Smith. June 25, 2012 . Tails Magazine. February 20, 2013.
  4. Web site: Patch chat: Renée Felice Smith. July 26, 2011 . Krystle L.. DiNicola. Patchogue.com. February 20, 2013.
  5. Web site: Interview with Renée Felice Smith who plays Missy in Tony Kaye's new film "Detachment" . March 15, 2012 . Mandell . Zack . Yahoo! Voices . February 20, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131216120020/http://voices.yahoo.com/interview-rene-felice-smith-plays-missy-in-11106890.html?cat=40 . December 16, 2013.
  6. Web site: NCIS: Los Angeles befördert Datenanalystin Nell Jones . NCIS: Los Angeles promotes data analyst Nell Jones . Neumann. Carolin. November 2, 2010 . Serienjunkies . de . February 27, 2012.
  7. Web site: Alan Dale in Undercovers; novità per Rookie Blue NCIS: LA, le serie tv dicono chi sei . Leopardi. Fulvia . November 2, 2010 . Televisionando . it . February 27, 2012.
  8. Web site: 'NCIS: LA' Star Renee Felice Smith on Leaving the Series After 11 Seasons (Exclusive). ETOnline.com. Philiana. Ng. May 24, 2021. May 23, 2023.
  9. Web site: ‘NCIS: LA’: How The Drama Ended Its 14-Season Run On CBS. Deadline.com. Lynette. Rice. May 21, 2023. May 23, 2023.
  10. News: Brown . Mark . Love is ... five gay films going global in the name of human rights . August 21, 2019 . . March 18, 2015.
  11. Web site: Levielle . Kerry . The Relationtrip Exclusive Clip . IndieWire . March 10, 2017 . June 2, 2017.
  12. Web site: Hugo and the Impossible Thing by Renée Felice Smith, Chris Gabriel: 9780593204634 PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books.
  13. Web site: YouTube . . April 28, 2020 . March 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200328025345/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yez-I6fBC1c . dead .