Hudson auditioned for the third season of American Idol in Atlanta. She was released from her five-year contract with Righteous Records so that she could appear on American Idol in 2004. In January 2002, Hudson signed her first recording contract with Righteous Records, a Chicago-based independent record label. 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. She has also credited Mariah Carey as being one of her musical "heroes." 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. She cites Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Patti LaBelle as her overall biggest influences and inspiration. She is the third and youngest child of Darnell Donerson and Samuel Simpson She was raised as a Baptist in Englewood and attended Dunbar Vocational High School, from which she graduated in 1999. Hudson was born on Septemin Chicago, Illinois.
2.2 2006–07: Dreamgirls and breakthrough.Hudson has contributed as a coach on the UK and the US version of The Voice from 2017 up to 2019, becoming the first female coach to win the former. In 2013, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She also performed at the White House at the "Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement" event. 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. She resumed public appearances the following year, with a high-profile performance at Super Bowl XLIII as well as other mainstream events. Hudson was the subject of significant media attention in 2008 when her mother, brother, and nephew were killed in a shooting. Hudson's other acting roles include, in films Sex and the City (2008), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Winnie Mandela (2011), Black Nativity (2013), Sing (2016), Cats (2019), Respect (2021), television shows Smash (2012), Empire (2015), Confirmation (2016), and her Broadway debut with the musical The Color Purple.
Her subsequent studio albums, I Remember Me (2011) and JHUD (2014), saw continued commercial success with the former also being certified gold in the United States. Following these successes, Hudson was signed to Arista Records and released her self-titled debut studio album in 2008, which was certified gold in the United States, sold over a million copies worldwide, and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. She made her film debut as Effie White in the musical Dreamgirls (2006), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the youngest African-American to win in a competitive acting category. Hudson rose to fame in 2004 as a finalist on the third season of American Idol, placing seventh. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020. Throughout her career, Hudson has received various accolades for both her music and acting, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Daytime Emmy Award, and two Grammy Awards. Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer and actress.