Jamal Lyon

Jamal Joseph Lyon is a fictional character from the American musical drama, Empire on Fox. Portrayed by Jussie Smollett, Jamal is the middle son of hip-hop mogul Lucious (Terrence Howard) and his wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). Jamal, a talented R&B singer and songwriter, struggles to gain his father's approval, but is able to overcome this adversity with Cookie's support. He initially expresses resentment towards fame and is hesitant to be in the limelight, but he gradually embraces it once Cookie begins to manage his career. Jamal engages in what was once a friendly competition against his younger brother and best friend Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) to determine who is more musically gifted, while maintaining a cold distance from his older brother Andre (Trai Byers) for his perpetual scheming. Jamal struggles with his father's objection to his homosexuality, which was inspired by Empire creator Lee Daniels' own relationship with his father. 2Storyline Jamal Lyon was born to Lucious (Terrence Howard) and Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the second of three sons. Jamal grew up with his brothers, father, and mother; his parents were selling drugs in the Philadelphia ghetto they lived in to finance Lucious' music career. As a child, he began to dress in women's clothing, which caused his father to throw him outside into a trash can in an effort to curb his homosexuality. In school, other children didn’t like his sexuality and constantly bullied hi