Born on September 12, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois, Jennifer Hudson was a student at the Dunbar Vocational Career Academy. She completed her studies in 1999. Jennifer has been singing since she was 7 years old, but her other interests include drawing and songwriting. She enjoys all kinds of music, but she often spends her time listening to R&B and pop. She cites season 2 American Idol winner Rubben Studdard as one of her favorite artists. For Jennifer, the winner of American Idol should be someone who not only possesses great talent, but also someone whose feet are planted firmly on the ground. Her favorite American Idol judge is Simon Cowell.

Traveling from her hometown to Atlanta, Georgia in order to audition for season 3 of American Idol was certainly a good call on Jennifer's part. Not only did she get a golden ticket from the judges, she also moved on to the semifinals. She, however, did not get a big enough fan base, and was voted out of the semifinals. Jennifer was given a second chance to win America's votes as a Finalist when American Idol judge Randy Jackson chose her as his wildcard pick. From there, Jennifer worked hard to get more people to vote for her, and her performance of "I Have Nothing" during Movie songs week earned her the highest number of votes for that round. Yet surprisingly, after coming out the top, she was suddenly voted off the show the following week, making her the sixth finalist eliminated.

After her stint on American Idol, Jennifer has gone on to conquer not only the music industry, but the entertainment world as well. In 2005, she was given the role of Effie White for the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Her stellar performance not only won her Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, but also snagged her an Academy Award and a SAG award for Best Supporting Actress. Jennifer's rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," received great reviews from movie and music critics alike, and it also opened at #98 on the Billboard Hot 100. As for her music career, Jennifer is busy working with Arista Records in the hopes of finally launching her first album.

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