 In 1996, she appeared in the Francis Ford Coppola film "Jack", making her big-screen debut.Smollett-Bell received critical acclaim for her performance as 10-year-old Eve in the 1997 film "Eve's Bayou" opposite Lynn Whitfield, Samuel L. Jackson and Debbi Morgan.In casting the role, writer-director Kasi Lemmons envisioned "a light-skinned black child who could convey the nuances of a Creole child in the 60s."