Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson rose to fame in 2004 as a finalist on American Idol's third season, placing seventh. She signed with Arista Records and released her self-titled debut album in 2008, which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and won Best R&B Album at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. Her second and third studio albums—I Remember Me (2011) and JHUD (2014)—both cracked the Billboard 200's top ten. In 2024, she signed with Interscope Records to release The Gift of Love, her first solo project in a decade.

Hudson made her film debut as Effie White in Dreamgirls (2006), winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and becoming the youngest African-American recipient of the award. She has since starred in Sex and the City (2008), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Winnie Mandela (2011), Black Nativity (2013), Sing (2016), Cats (2019), and portrayed Aretha Franklin in the biopic Respect (2021). On television, she coached contestants on both UK and US versions of The Voice from 2017 to 2019, becoming the first female coach to lead a winning team on the UK version. She acted in the Broadway revival The Color Purple (2015) and won the Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer of A Strange Loop (2022).

In 2022, Hudson achieved EGOT status—becoming the youngest woman and third African-American to win all four major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. The Hollywood Walk of Fame inducted her in 2013, and Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020. Her talk show, The Jennifer Hudson Show, premiered in 2022. Born September 12, 1981, Hudson is a Virgo—a sign known for precision and service—and carries life-path number 4, reflecting her role as a builder and stabilizer in entertainment.