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Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She first gained notice as one of the finalists on the third season of the FOX television series American Idol. She went on to star as Effie White in the 2006 motion picture adaptation of the musical Dreamgirls for which she won numerous awards including an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and a SAG Award.

Hudson was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Darnell Hudson and Samuel Simpson, who was a bus driver.[1] She was raised Baptist[2] and attended Dunbar Vocational Career Academy and graduated in 1999. She cites Whitney Houston as her musical and movie influence, as well as Aretha Franklin.[3] She has also cited on multiple occasions that Celine Dion is one of her favorite artists.[4][5]

After seeing Hudson's performance in Dreamgirls, American Idol judge Simon Cowell taped a congratulatory message to her, which aired on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[6] With the March 2007 issue, Jennifer Hudson became the third African American celebrity, and the first African American singer, to grace the cover of Vogue magazine.

Hudson auditioned for the third season of American Idol in Atlanta, Georgia. In her audition she commented that she had been singing on Disney Cruise Lines for the past few months (as one of the Muses from Hercules) and Randy said "We're expecting more than a cruise ship performance from you". Jennifer delivered and all the judges agreed it was the best voice they had heard so far in the competition. She was a member of the first group of semifinalists in the Semi Finals. She was not voted through to the final round, although she was brought back on the wildcard round and put through as a Top 12 finalist by contest judge Randy Jackson.

Jennifer Hudson struggled to gain popularity in the early stages of the live shows, receiving the second-lowest number of votes in two of the first three shows. However, after a change in song choices, she soon became a favorite to win, receiving the highest number of votes in the Top 9 after her performance of Elton John's "Circle of Life" on April 6, 2004. Among Hudson's performances on the show was her rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing". American Idol judge Simon Cowell commented that she "finally proved why she was among the Top 12" and referred to the performance a week later as "sensational".[8]

On April 21, 2004, Hudson became the sixth of the 12 finalists to be voted off the show, finishing the competition in seventh place.

Hudson has been dating James Payton since 1999 when she was 18. They both hail from Chicago. When asked if they had any plans to marry, Hudson declared that "we are happy with the place we are right now, but perhaps we will tie the knot someday. One thing's for sure, I definitely won't be popping the question!"