Jennifer Hudson

Early Years

Jennifer Kate Hudson was born on September 12, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois. As a child, Hudson honed her skills singing in the church gospel choir.

Hudson graduated from Dunbar Vocational Career Academy in 1999. After school, she began pursuing her dream of becoming a professional singer. She performed in community theater, sang with the Disney Wonder cruise ship, and was seen in a touring production of Hercules: The Musical.

Hudson at the Dreamgirls New York premiere

American Idol

In 2004, Jennifer Hudson auditioned for the third season of the singing competition American Idol in Atlanta, Georgia. Hudson progressed to the semifinalist round in Hollywood, but was not selected to participate as a finalist. During a wildcard round, judge Randy Jackson chose Hudson as a finalist.

Jennifer Hudson was not immediately a fan favorite on the series, and received the second lowest number of votes several times during the competition. She changed her song choices and suddenly gained popularity with fans. She received the highest number of votes following her performance of Elton John’s “Circle of Life,” and seemed destined to win.

American Idol Controversy

Jennifer Hudson’s exit from the show, as the seventh of the finalists to be voted off, was met with criticism. Many believed there was a flaw in the voting system, and speculations of racism began when three African-American women, Latoya London, Hudson, and Fantasia Barrino, were in the bottom three. Further fueling Hudson’s departure was a power outage in her hometown of Chicago on voting night. The controversy over the series finally died down, and Fantasia Barrino won season three.

Hudson earned critical acclaim from some of the music industry’s greats during her time on American Idol. Both Elton John and Barry Manilow found Hudson’s performances to be flawless. Manilow performed a duet with Hudson on Ryan Seacrest’s talk show the day after she was eliminated from American Idol.

Hudson, with Screen Actors Guild award

The Big Screen

Despite her loss on American Idol, Jennifer Hudson continued to follow her dreams and was cast in 2005 as Effie White in the film musical Dreamgirls. The star-studded cast included Beyonce, Eddie Murphy, and Jamie Foxx.

Dreamgirls was released in a limited number of cities on December 25, 2006, with a nationwide release on January 12, 2007. Hudson’s performance gained positive reviews from critics, and she proved to be the golden girl of the awards season. She snagged the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, as well as the Screen Actors Guild and Broadcast Film Critics Association awards for Best Supporting Actress. In all, Hudson has received over a dozen awards and nominations.

Her emotional performance of the film’s song “And I Am Tell You I’m Not Going” particularly won over critics. A number of publications predicted that Jennifer Hudson would receive an Oscar nomination for her performance, with Variety comparing her to a “young Aretha.” In January 2007, Jennifer was nominated for the Academy Award for Actress in a Supporting Role.

Singing Career

Jennifer Hudson has contributed to a number of albums, including American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics, the Meat Loaf Album, Bat Out of Hell III, a tribute album for the musical Hair, and the soundtrack for Dreamgirls. She did not, however, sign a solo record deal until November 2006. Hudson signed with Arista Records, joining the ranks of Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, who also sing on the Arista label.

During an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's talk show, she said that she would be recording her album in March 2007, with a release date expected in late 2007.

Jennifer Hudson Facts

• Hudson is the third African American actress to win a Golden Globe Award for an acting category, joining Whoopi Goldberg and Angela Bassett.
• 782 other actresses, including American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino, auditioned for the role of Effie White in Dreamgirls.
• The role of Effie White required Hudson to gain 20 pounds.
• One of Hudson’s biggest influences is Whitney Houston.
• She has a four-octave singing range.