|
Jennifer Hudson Profile |
|
-
Birth Date: September 12, 1981
-
Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA
-
Birth Name: Jennifer Kate Hudson
-
Height: 5'9"
|
|
|
Jennifer Hudson Wallpaper |
|
|
|
|
Biography |
Jennifer Kate Hudson was born September 12, 1981 in Chicago,
Illinois. A naturally outgoing and charismatic child, she
sang in public for the first time at the age of 7 when she
was given the opportunity to lead her congregation in a
rousing gospel number. “I really enjoyed getting the church
up on their feet, their hips swaying, their hands clapping,
it's was a great feeling to evoke that energy for the Lord,”
she recalls. That initial performance hooked her, and
Jennifer spent the rest of her childhood starring in school
talent shows, local music productions and church socials.
Jennifer turned her passion into her profession in 2002,
when she landed a six-month gig as a featured vocalist
aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship. Although she was
grateful for the work, Jennifer admits the experience was
sometimes unnerving, particularly given her complete
inability to swim. "Once you get on the ship, you have to do
[emergency] drills with the officers," she recalls. "We had
to do a 'wet' drill and I'm thinking it's going to be a
little sprinkle. Honey, they took us out and hung us over
the side of the ship in one of those little boats just in
midair and then they made us get out at Castaway Key and hop
off of a two-story cliff into the water.”
Luckily, Jennifer survived the ordeal and she managed to
propel her career forward even further in 2004 when she
successfully auditioned for the third season of American
Idol. Despite her lack of formal training, Jennifer’s
incredible five-octave voice won over fans and critics
alike, and she advanced to the final six before being
unceremoniously voted off the program. “I can't say that I
wasn't shocked when I was voted off of American Idol,
because I was,” she admits. “I had just sort of settled in
to the pressure, and was feeling confident, when I got the
wind knocked out of me. I knew, though, that my career would
just be beginning at that point -- I had been seen.”
Jennifer’s intuition proved to be spot-on, and she landed on
her feet the following year when she beat out 781 other
actresses for the coveted role of Effie Melody White in the
film adaptation of Dreamgirls. "I never gave up hope of
playing Effie,” she admits. “They'd talk to me and then look
at other people and then come back to me, but I always had
the faith. I had to separate myself from the process and not
think about it too much or I'd go crazy."
Rounding out the cast was a veritable who’s-who of Hollywood
talent, including Eddie Murphy, Beyonce Knowles and Academy
Award-winner and one of AskMen.com’s Top 49 Men of 2006,
Jamie Foxx. Jennifer immediately showed that she belonged
amongst her A-list costars by throwing herself into her
role. "I just tried to live in the moment and be natural, as
if there were no cameras there,” she explains. “Maybe it's
because I felt like singing and acting are related. When
you're singing, you have to sell it. You act out that song;
you have to know the meaning and purpose of it. I let that
guide me."
Jennifer’s philosophy clearly worked and she has since been
rewarded for her breakthrough performance. She won the
prestigious Golden Globe award, an incredible feat for a
first-time actress and received awards and honors from
ShoWest, the Satellite Awards, The National Board of Review,
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, The New York Film
Critics Circle, the African American Films Critics
Association, The Hollywood Life Awards, and much more.
Jennifer has also translated her big-screen success into a
deal with J Records, a label run by legendary impresario
Clive Davis. "We haven't even sat down to discuss the
creative side of things as far as the type of material I'll
be recording," says Hudson. "All I can promise is that it
will have a lot of soul." Look for her album to hit stores
everywhere in June. |
|
|
Other
Information |
Jennifer 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.
Beat out American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino for her role
in Dreamgirls
Beat out 782 actresses for her role in Dreamgirls (2006).
Was born a few months after "Dreamgirls" debuted on the New
York Broadway stage.
Jennifer's role of Effie Melody White in Dreamgirls (2006)
is a thinly-disguised portrait of the late ousted Supreme
Florence Ballard. Flo's story, however, ended up 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 and all three girls at one
point 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. He was right and the Supremes were a sensation
with Ballard and Wilson shoved permanently into the
background and never given any solo lines in any of their
hits. 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. Ballard's
unreliability for shows triggered her dismissal in 1967 and
an attempted solo career was a complete bust, 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.
The first contestant from American Idol to be nominated for
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.
One of a very few actors to receive an Oscar-nomination for
their debut performance. |
|
|
|
