Jennifer Hudson Trivia | 60 facts about the newest EGOT member

Jennifer Hudson became one of the people who has received all four of the major American entertainment awards (EGOT).

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about her life and career thus far.

1. Her full name is Jennifer Kate Hudson
2. She was born in September 12, 1981
3. She is also known by her nickname J.Hud
4. Jennifer Hudson is an American singer and actress
5. Throughout her career, Hudson has received various accolades for both her music and acting
6. She has won an Academy Award
7. Two Grammy Awards
8. A Daytime Emmy Award
9. A Tony Award
10. A Golden Globe Award
11. And a Screen Actors Guild Award
12. Her Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony wins made her the second black woman to receive all four of the major American entertainment awards (EGOT)
13. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020
14. Jennifer Hudson rose to fame in 2004 as a finalist on the third season of American Idol
15. She placed seventh in the competition
16. he made her film debut as Effie White in the musical Dreamgirls (2006)
17. For this role she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
18. Becoming the youngest African-American to win in a competitive acting category
19. Following these successes, Hudson was signed to Arista Records
20. She released her self-titled debut studio album in 2008
21. The album was certified gold in the United States
22. It sold over a million copies worldwide and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album
23. Her subsequent studio albums, I Remember Me (2011) and JHUD (2014), saw continued commercial success
24. The former was also certified gold in the United States
25. Hudson’s other acting roles include the films Sex and the City (2008), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Winnie Mandela (2011), Black Nativity (2013), Sing (2016), Cats (2019) and Respect (2021)
26. She also starred in the television shows Smash (2012), Empire (2015) and Confirmation (2016)
27. She made her Broadway debut with the musical The Color Purple
28. Jennifer Hudson was the subject of significant media attention in 2008 when her mother, brother, and nephew were killed in a shooting
29. She resumed public appearances the following year with a high-profile performance at Super Bowl XLIII as well as other mainstream events
30. In 2013, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
31. Hudson has contributed as a coach on the UK and the US version of The Voice from 2017 up to 2019
32. She was the first female coach to win the former
33. Hudson was born on September 12, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois
34. She is the third and youngest child of Darnell Donerson and Samuel SimpsonShe wa
35. s raised as a Baptist in Englewood
36. Jennifer Hudson attended Dunbar Vocational High School
37. She graduated in 1999
38. She cites Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Patti LaBelle as her overall biggest influences and inspiration
39. She has also credited Mariah Carey as being one of her musical “heroes”
40. 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
41. 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
42. In January 2002, Hudson signed her first recording contract with Righteous Records, a Chicago-based independent record label
43. She was released from her five-year contract with Righteous Records so that she could appear on American Idol in 2004
44. Jennifer Hudson began dating James Payton in 1999, when she was 18
45. They separated in late 2007
46. Hudson met David Otunga, a professional wrestler in the WWE and a Harvard Law graduate
47. The couple became engaged in September 2008
48. In August 2009, Hudson gave birth to her first child, her son David Daniel Otunga, Jr.
49. In November 2017, Hudson and Otunga had split
50. On October 24, 2008, Hudson’s 57-year-old mother Darnell Donerson and 29-year-old brother Jason were found shot to death inside the Chicago home Donerson shared with Hudson’s older sister, Julia
51. An AMBER Alert was issued for her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, when Julia reported him missing
52. Three days later the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed a body found on Chicago’s West Side was the nephew
53. An autopsy indicated he had died from “multiple gunshot wounds”
54. Police charged William Balfour, Julia’s estranged 27-year-old husband, with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion
55. Convicted on all seven counts against him, in July 2012, he was sentenced to three life sentences without the possibility of parole (to be served consecutively), followed by an additional 120 years for his other convictions
56. Hudson’s family created The Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims, in honor of the three victims
57. Hudson and her sister created the Julian D. King Gift Foundation in honor of her nephew
58. It provides Christmas presents and school supplies to families in need in the Chicago area
59. Jennifer 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
60. She also performed at the White House at the “Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement” event