Birth Date: 12 September 1981
Birthplace: Chicago, IL
Birthname: Jennifer Kate Hudson

theOscarSite Bio: Hudson earned minor attention as one of the twelve finalists (she came in an underwhelming sixth runner-up) on the third season of the amazingly popular FOX reality/talent-search TV series "American Idol" in 2004. Prior to this she grew up singing in gospel choirs. Her relative inexperience included acting in community theater productions, singing on cruise lines and touring for Disney in "Hercules: The Musical". Her naturally raw, soulful vocals had no formal musical training to speak of. Admittedly, the songs that tested her on the FOX talent show were frequently ill-advised but evidence of her greatness certainly peaked through. She, along with the other two African-American powerhouse singers Fantasia Barrino and La Toya London were the shows's own version of the Dreamgirls and were expected to be the final three when Jennifer was unceremoniously whittled out of the competition. Perhaps her plus size, lack of viewer popularity and her overly gospel style were out of sync with the "American Idol" image. No matter, a brilliant Fantasia won the competition... and, it seemed, the glory and the fame.

Fast forward: Hudson played out the "American Idol" summer tour and held on to her "15 minutes" of fame as long as possible by performing on the road in concerts for the next two years. What seemed like an eventual road back to obscurity, she found her way into the auditioning room for the coveted role of Effie Melody White, the cast-off member of a popular 60s Supremes-like girl group in the long-awaited film version of the exceedingly popular Broadway musical "Dreamgirls". Among Jennifer's competition of over 750 hopefuls was Fantasia herself. This time Jennifer was the winner... and she was even ordered to gain weight for the role. With the insurmountable task of taking over a role so indelibly identified with the original Effie on Broadway, the Tony^®-winning legend Jennifer Holliday, the making of DREAMGIRLS (2006) for Jennifer Hudson could only have been described as daunting, surreal and thrilling -- with the word "daunting" certainly an understatement.

· Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 2006: DREAMGIRLS