Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson

Birth Date: September 12, 1981
Birth Place: Chicago, Ill.

Jennifer Hudson's awe-inspiring turn as Effie White in Dreamgirls made the world forget that Simon Cowell told her she resembled "something you should wrap a turkey in." Not only did the American Idol reject upstage an Oscar winner and pop superstar, she also earned an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

A performer since childhood in her family's South Side of Chicago Baptist church, Hudson did a stint aboard the Disney Wonder cruise before competing on the third season of American Idol. After her early elimination, Hudson soldiered on, eventually beating 781 hopefuls for her star-making role in Dreamgirls. Hudson has since signed a recording contract with Clive Davis, taken her curves to the cover of Vogue, and proven she was more than a one act wonder with a role in the highly anticipated Sex and the City movie.