Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981) is an American recording artist, actress and model. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the
third season of the
Fox reality television series
American Idol. She made her film debut in the 2006 film
Dreamgirls and won an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, as well as a
Golden Globe Award, a
BAFTA Award, an
NAACP Image Award and a
Screen Actors Guild Award, among many others.
She won a
Grammy Award for her eponymous debut album,
Jennifer Hudson, which was released in 2008 on
Arista Records and soon certified gold by the
RIAA for more than 500,000 shipped copies, spawning the hit single "
Spotlight".
