Jennifer Hudson - Biography

Last Editor: mschmid				Jennifer Hudson Biography -   Name : Jennifer Hudson Birth name : Jennifer Kate Hudson Date of birth : September 12, 1981 Place of birth : Chicago, Illinois Profession : Singer, actress Nationality : American Height : 5' 9

Jennifer Hudson Trivia -

Jennifer Hudson was going to perform Over the Rainbow for movie night but was informed that she'd have to perform it Kimberley Locke's way and decided to sing I Have Nothing instead. Jennifer beat American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino for her role in Dreamgirls (2006). She beat out 782 actresses for her role in Dreamgirls (2006). Jennifer's role of Effie Melody White in Dreamgirls (2006) is a thinly-disguised portrait of the late ousted Supreme member Florence Ballard. Flo's story, however, ended tragically, unlike that of the Effie character. Of Diana Ross and Mary Wilson, Ballard, who gave the Supremes its name, was the strongest vocalist of the three. At one point, all three girls shared leads. Labeled the no-hit Supremes for a time, astute Motown mogul Berry Gordy decided Ross had the ideal personality and coy voice to pull in cross-over white audiences. The Supremes were a sensation with Ballard and Wilson shoved permanently into the background and never given any solo lines. Unlike Effie, Ballard's weight was not a factor until well into stardom. Fed by Ross's diva-like stance, Flo's ongoing depression and problems with alcohol grew. Ballard's unreliability triggered her dismissal in 1967. An attempt at a solo career was a complete bust, since she was never allowed to feed off the Supremes name for publicity. Ballard became destitute with three children to support and her health severely declined. Unlike Effie, Flo never was able to make a comeback and died of a coronary thrombosis in 1976 at age 32. She was the first contestant from "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002) to be nominated and win an Academy Award. A revival of the 1981 Broadway smash "Dreamgirls" is in the talking stage and Jennifer has been approached about recreating her Effie role. She is one of a very few actors to receive an Oscar for their debut performance. After appearing on the March 2007 issue of Vogue magazine, she became the third African-American celebrity to grace the front cover. The other two were Oprah Winfrey and Halle Berry. She worked at Burger King before becoming a contestant on "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002) and winning the role of her Academy-Award winning performance in Dreamgirls (2006). She attended Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, graduating in 1999. She cites Whitney Houston as her musical/movie influence, and has also said recently that her biggest wish is to collaborate on her debut album with Houston. Jennifer became close friends with singer Beyonce Knowles during the filming of Dreamgirls (2006). Beyonce was present at the February 2007 Academy Awards ceremony where Jennifer won the Oscar for best supporting actress. She is one of the 15 actors to win an Oscar for their film debut. The others are: Shirley Booth for Come Back, Little Sheba (1952), Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins (1964), Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl (1968) and Marlee Matlin for Children of a Lesser God (1986) (all for Best Actress in a Leading Role), followed by Katina Paxinou for For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), Mercedes McCambridge for All the King's Men (1949), Eva Marie Saint for On the Waterfront (1954), Jo Van Fleet for East of Eden (1955), Goldie Hawn for Cactus Flower (1969), Tatum O'Neal for Paper Moon (1973) and Anna Paquin for The Piano (1993) (all for Best Actress in a Supporting Role). The three male actors are Harold Russell for The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Timothy Hutton for Ordinary People (1980), and Haing S. Ngor for The Killing Fields (1984) (all for Best Actor in a Supporting Role). Out of these 15 actors, only Mercedes McCambridge, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand and Goldie Hawn have been nominated since their win. In November 2006, she signed a record deal with Clive Davis's label, Arista Records. She packed on 20 pounds to play the role of Effie White in Dreamgirls (2006). She dedicated her Golden Globe to Florence Ballard on whom her Dreamgirls (2006) character Effie White is so obviously based on (January 2007). She managed to eke out a thanks to the original stage Effie, Jennifer Holliday, as the orchestra music began to unceremoniously drown out Jennifer's emotional Oscar acceptance speech. Both Holliday and Sheryl Lee Ralph (the theater's first Deena) had expressed hurt and dismay earlier at being snubbed during the mounting publicity for the "Dreamgirls" film. The third original Dreamgirl on stage, Loretta Devine, received a singing cameo in the film version. The other two were not offered or even approached to appear in the film. She was overwhelmed to receive the Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, California. She also performed at the ceremony and said, "I just can't believe I got the Sammy Davis Jr. Award. I'm standing on the same stage where I made the top 32 of American Idol." (10 March 2007). Jennifer attributes her vocal talents to her late grandmother Julia Kate Hudson, who was a former choir mistress in Chicago. She is one of four African-American actresses to win an Oscar in a competitive category. In chronological order the others are: Hattie McDaniel for Gone with the Wind (1939), Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost (1990) and Halle Berry for Monster's Ball (2001). Her best supporting actress Oscar for Dreamgirls (2006) stands on the mantel of her Chicago apartment. Her favourite female pop artist is Celine Dion. Her favourite types of music are R&B and pop. She was one of 115 people invited to join AMPAS in 2007. Jennifer began singing when she was 7-years-old. As a child, Jennifer performed as part of a choir at her local church in Chicago. She is one of twelve African-American actresses to be nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar. The others in chronological order are: Hattie McDaniel, Ethel Waters, Juanita Moore, Beah Richards, Alfre Woodard, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie Perez, Queen Latifah and Ruby Dee. As of 2008, Whoopi Goldberg is the only African-American actress to receive nominations in both the best actress and best supporting actress categories. She was cast in the film Meet the Browns (2008), but was replaced shortly before filming began. Jennifer made her stage debut with the one-off concert revival of 'Hair' on Broadway in September 2004. She then returned to Broadway for the one-off concert revival of 'The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas' as Jewel in October 2006. She was not in attendance at the 2007 BAFTA Awards ceremony when she was won the award as Best Supporting Actress for Dreamgirls (2006). Actor and fellow BAFTA-nominee Daniel Craig accepted the award on her behalf. As of 2007 she is the eighth youngest recipient of the best supporting actress Academy Award. She won the award at the age of 25 for her performance in Dreamgirls (2006). The others, ranked from youngest to the seventh youngest, are: Tatum O'Neal (aged 10) for Paper Moon (1973), Anna Paquin (aged 11) for The Piano (1993), Patty Duke (aged 16) for The Miracle Worker (1962), Anne Baxter (aged 23) for The Razor's Edge (1946), Teresa Wright (aged 24) for Mrs. Miniver (1942), Goldie Hawn (aged 24) for Cactus Flower (1969) and Angelina Jolie (aged 24) for Girl, Interrupted (1999). She is also the youngest African-American actress ever to win an Academy Award. Jennifer claims that Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) is her favorite film. Sheryl Lee Ralph, who appears in that film, was in the original Dreamgirls Broadway cast. She was in a relationship with maintenance engineer James Peyton between 1999-2007. The song All Dressed In Love was written for the Sex and the City (2008) soundtrack. Director Michael Patrick King and actress Sarah Jessica Parker wanted Jennifer specifically to play the role of Louise, Carrie's assistant, in Sex and the City (2008). He created the role with only her in mind. She confessed that before making the film Sex and the City (2008), she had never seen the "Sex and the City" (1998) television series. After reading the film script she went out and bought all of the DVDs on the TV series and became completely addicted to them. She is one of five actresses to have won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same performance. The others in chronological order are Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich (2000), Renee Zellweger for Cold Mountain (2003), Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005) and Helen Mirren for The Queen (2006). She was mentioned by Lil Mama in the remix of Avril Lavigne's song Girlfriend: "I'm telling you like Jennifer Hudson". She is the daughter of Samuel Simpson and Darnell Hudson Donerson and is the youngest of three children. Her father, who is deceased, was a bus driver. Her brother Jason was a mechanic and her sister Julia works as a school bus driver. She became engaged to David Otunga on her 27th birthday when he proposed with a Neil Lane diamond ring on September 12, 2008. Her mother Darnell and her brother Jason were shot and killed at their home in Chicago and her nephew Julian was kidnapped. On October the 27th Julian King was found dead in the rear seat of a white SUV about 10 miles away from the familys home in Chicago. Julian was 7 years old and died due to multiple gun shot wounds. Her brother-in-law William Balfour (he is married, but estranged, to Jennifer's sister Julia) was named as a suspect. [October 24, 2008] She has a half-sister named Dinah Simpson. She was invited to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" at Barack Obama's inauguration on January 20th, 2009. She gave birth to a baby boy on August 10, 2009 with her fiance David Otunga. The baby's name is David Daniel Otunga, Jr.

Jennifer Hudson Detailed Biography -

Jennifer Hudson is an American singer, one of the finalists on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol. Hudson, 22, is originally from Chicago, Illinois. Hudson auditioned for the third season of American Idol in Atlanta, Georgia; she was a member of the first group of semifinalists, but was not voted through to the final round. Hudson was instead brought back for the wildcard round and put through as a finalist by contest judge Randy Jackson. Prior to American Idol, Hudson had worked as a singer and actor aboard cruise ships, but never had any formal musical training. On April 21, 2004, Hudson became the sixth of the 12 finalists to be voted off the show. Because Hudson and the two other black female singers on the show were all in the bottom three, the event became a bit of a controversy in the media as some, including previous guest Elton John, suggested that the vote's result was racist, while others thought that the "divas" merely split the same demographic.