20 Things you don’t know about Jennifer Hudson

1.  Full name Jennifer Kate Hudson

2.  Jennifer Hudson was born on September 12, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois. She is the third and youngest child of Darnell Donnerson and Samuel Simpson

3.  Jennifer Hudson was raised as a Baptist in Englewood

4.  Jennifer Hudson cites Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Patti LaBelle as her overall biggest influences and inspiration

5.  At the age of 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

6.  Jeniffer Hudson enrolled at Langston University but she left after a semester due to homesickness and unhappiness with the weather, and signed up at Kennedy–King College.

7.  In January 2002, Jennifer Hudson signed her first recording contract with Righteous Records, a Chicago-based independent record label. The company’s president, David Johnson, and his staff put Jennifer through a full year of artist development, working five days a week on live performance, stage presence, songwriting, on-camera interviewing, charm school etiquette and physical fitness

8.  Jeniffer Hudson auditioned for the third season of American Idol, in Atlanta, commenting that she had been singing on Disney Cruise Lines (aboard the Disney Wonder) for the past few months

9.  Hudson received the highest number of votes in the “Top 9” after her performance of Elton John’s “Circle of Life” on April 6, 2004, but two weeks later was eliminated during the “Top 7” show after performing Barry Manilow’s, “Weekend in New England.”

10.  In May 2009, MTV listed Hudson as the sixth greatest American Idol and noted her exit was the most shocking of all time. In May 2010, the Los Angeles Times claimed Hudson to be the third greatest Idol contestant in the history of the show, placing behind season one winner Kelly Clarkson and season four winner Carrie Underwood

11.  In November 2006, Jennifer Hudson signed a record deal with Arista Records

12.  Jennifer Hudson has garnered 29 awards from film critics as Best Supporting Actress and Breakthrough Performer of 2006’s Dreamgirls

13.  Jennifer Hudson made her third film appearance in The Secret Life of Bees as Rosaleen, the mother figure of Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning). The film won two People’s Choice Awards in January 2009 in the categories, Favorite Drama Movie and Favorite Independent Movie. The film also received nine Black Reel Awards nominations including three wins. Hudson was nominated for her performance in the film, but lost to Queen Latifah

14.  In 2010, Jennifer Hudson started filming the biopic film Winnie Mandela based on the South African politician Winnie Mandela starring alongside Terrence Howard

15.  Jennifer Hudson debut studio album, Jennifer Hudson was released on September 30, 2008. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard’ 200 with 217,000 copies in the US and opened to positive reviews. As of August 2009, the album has sold 739,000 copies in the US, receiving a Gold certification for surpassing sales of 500,000. Her debut album garnered Hudson three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards

16.  In October 2008, Hudson’s 57-year-old mother, Darnell Donnerson, and 29-year-old brother, Jason, were found shot to death inside the Chicago home Donnerson shared with Hudson’s elder sister, Julia. An AMBER Alert was issued for her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, when Julia reported him missing. Three days later the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed the body found in Chicago’s West Side area was the nephew, an autopsy indicated the death was due to “multiple gunshot wounds.” Hudson’s family announced creation of The Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims, in honor of the three victims

17.  Jennifer Hudson met David Otunga, a professional wrestler in the WWE and a Harvard Law graduate, and the couple became engaged in September 2008.  In August 2009, Hudson gave birth to her first child, a boy named David Daniel Otunga, Jrssss

18.  In 2010 Hudson became the spokesperson for Weight Watchers. She has lost 56 pounds (25 kg) in the last year and “does not want to lose any more weight.” However, on February 10, 2011, she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and revealed she has now lost a total of 80 pounds

19.  Jennifer Hudson 2012 autobiography, I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down, detailed her weight loss.

20.  On November 13, 2013, Hudson was awarded with the 2,512th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame