Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud,[1] is an American singer, actress, and television personality. Having received numerous accolades for her work in music, film, television, and theater, Hudson became the youngest woman and third African-American recipient of all four major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT) in 2022.[2] She was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013,[3] and Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.[4]
This article is about the singer. For her self-titled album, see Jennifer Hudson (album).
Jennifer Hudson
- Singer
- actress
- television presenter
2004–present
James Payton (1999–2007)
David Otunga (2007–2017)
Common (2021–present)
1
Vocals
2006–present
In her recording career, Hudson rose to fame in 2004 as a finalist on the third season of the reality series American Idol, in which she placed seventh. She signed with Arista Records to release her self-titled debut studio album (2008), which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and won Best R&B Album at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. She made her film debut as Effie White in the musical Dreamgirls (2006), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and became the youngest African-American recipient of the award.
Hudson's second and third studio albums, I Remember Me (2011) and JHUD (2014), both peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200. Outside of her recording career, she was cast in further acting roles such as Sex and the City (2008), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Winnie Mandela (2011), Black Nativity (2013), Sing (2016), Cats (2019) and Respect (2021), the television shows Smash (2012), Empire (2015) and Confirmation (2016). She made her Broadway acting debut with the 2015 iteration of the musical, The Color Purple. Hudson has also contributed as a coach on both the UK and the US versions of the reality series The Voice from 2017 to 2019, and became the first female coach to lead a winning team on the former.[5] Since 2022, she has hosted her own talk show, The Jennifer Hudson Show.
Early life
Hudson was born on September 12, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois.[6][7] She is the third and youngest child of Darnell Donerson[8] and Samuel Simpson, a Greyhound Lines bus driver.[9][10] She, her older sister Julia, a school bus driver, and her brother Jason Hudson, were raised primarily by their mother. Her father was absent from her childhood until, with the blessing of her mother, she went looking for him at age 14. When Hudson found her father, she learned that he had 26 other children. She has stated she has still not met all of her half-siblings.[11]
She was raised as a Baptist[12] in Englewood[13] and attended Dunbar Vocational High School, from which she graduated in 1999.[14] She cites Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Patti LaBelle as her overall biggest influences and inspiration.[15] She has also credited Mariah Carey as being one of her musical "heroes".[16] At age 7 she got her start in performing by singing with the church choir and doing community theater with the help of her late maternal grandmother, Julia.[17] She enrolled at Langston University but she left after a semester due to homesickness and unhappiness with the weather, and registered at Kennedy–King College.[18]
In January 2002, Hudson signed her first recording contract with Righteous Records, a Chicago-based independent record label.[19] She was released from her five-year contract with Righteous Records so that she could appear on American Idol in 2004.
Career
2004–2005: American Idol
Hudson auditioned for the third season of American Idol in Atlanta. After commenting that she had been singing on Disney Cruise Lines (aboard the Disney Wonder) for the past few months as one of the Muses from Hercules, judge Randy Jackson told her, "We're expecting more than a cruise ship performance from you."[20] Hudson received the highest number of votes in the "Top 9" after her performance of Elton John's "Circle of Life" on April 6, 2004, but two weeks later, she was eliminated during the "Top 7" show after performing Barry Manilow's, "Weekend in New England".[21][22] In May 2009, MTV listed Hudson as the sixth greatest contestant in American Idol history and noted her exit was the most shocking of all time.[23] In May 2010, the Los Angeles Times claimed Hudson to be the third greatest Idol contestant in the history of the show, placing behind season one winner Kelly Clarkson and season four winner Carrie Underwood respectively.[24]
Personal life
Hudson began dating James Payton in 1999, when she was 18.[127] They separated in late 2007. Hudson met David Otunga, a professional wrestler in the WWE and a Harvard Law graduate,[128] and the couple became engaged in September 2008.[129] In August 2009, Hudson gave birth to her first child, her son David Daniel Otunga, Jr.[130] In November 2017, Hudson and Otunga had split.[131][132]
On October 24, 2008, Hudson's 57-year-old mother Darnell Donerson and 29-year-old brother Jason were found shot to death inside the Chicago home Donerson shared with Hudson's older sister, Julia.[133] An AMBER Alert was issued for her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, when Julia reported him missing.[134][135] Three days later the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed a body found on Chicago's West Side was the nephew; an autopsy indicated he had died from "multiple gunshot wounds".[136] Police charged William Balfour, Julia's estranged 27-year-old husband, with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion.[137] Convicted on all seven counts against him,[138] in July 2012, he was sentenced to three life sentences without the possibility of parole (to be served consecutively), followed by an additional 120 years for his other convictions.[139][140] Hudson's family created The Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims, in honor of the three victims.[141] Hudson and her sister created the Julian D. King Gift Foundation in honor of her nephew. It provides Christmas presents and school supplies to families in need in the Chicago area.[142]
Hudson has been described as a friend of former President Barack Obama, who invited her to appear with him at a fundraiser in Beverly Hills during his first term in May 2009.[143] She also performed at the White House at the "Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement" event.[144]
As of 2011, Hudson resides in Burr Ridge, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago.[145]
In 2022, while working together on their film Breathe, Hudson began dating fellow Chicago native, rapper and actor, Common. The pair confirmed their relationship with an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show in January 2024. When discussing their romance, Common stated "I'm in a relationship that is with one of the most beautiful people I've met in life," he admitted. "She's smart, she loves God, she has something real down to earth about her. She's talented."[146]