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Born September 12, 1981, in Chicago, IL, Hudson was blessed with an amazing vocal range of six octaves and a perfect musical ear.  As a young girl, she meticulously trained as a singer from the age of seven, initially in her Baptist church choir, then in dozens upon dozens of stage musicals and talent shows during adolescence. She graduated from Dunbar Vocational Career Academy in 1999, worked at Burger King for a while, and engaged in a Chicago musical production of Big River, where she sang professionally. She briefly attended college but dropped out not long after. In 2002, 21-year-old Hudson landed a job as a feature vocalist on the Disney Wonder cruise ship. Around 2004, with American audiences deep in the throes of reality television, Hudson auditioned in Atlanta, Georgia, for the third season of Fox's American Idol series, made the cut, and quickly moved along to the semi-finalist round. Though Ryan Seacrest later indicated that Hudson received a higher number of votes than any performer from a previous episode, Hudson was hastily eliminated from the running. Judge Randy Jackson brought Hudson back in the "wildcard" round to join the finalists, but with seven contenders remaining, Hudson was booted off of the series despite the well-publicized fact that her range and ability clearly surpassed those of her competitors. That decision infuriated millions.

In late 2005, Hudson auditioned along with 783 other hopefuls for a role in Dreamgirls.  Hudson wanted the role of Effi "Melody" White, a female vocalist unfairly ousted from the ranks of a three-member female pop group in the early '60s. An overjoyed Hudson landed the part while cutting her first album, and had to gain almost 25 pounds to perfect Effi's look onscreen. Production started in January 2006. A media blitz surrounded Hudson's triumph in the role that lifted her into the limelight even months prior to the stateside release of Dreamgirls in December 2006. This buzz included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination and widespread comparisons to Jennifer Holliday, who originated the Effi role on Broadway in 1981. These predictions began to come true, starting with a win for Best Supporting Actress at that year's Golden Globes awards. The Cinderella story materialized in full on Oscar night when she captured the Best Supporting Actress award. During this most prestigious event she also performed the song Love You I Do.  As an actress she was being compared to Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl" (1968), and as a singer she was being referred to as the next Aretha Franklin. At that point of life, Hudson did not forget to thank Holliday in her Oscar acceptance speech.

On May 30, 2008, Jennifer Hudson appeared in the hit movie, Sex in the City, and starred in The Secret Life of Bees in October 2008 along with Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Sophie Okonedo. Her self-titled debut album was released in September 2008.

In September 2008, Hudson and her boyfriend, David Otunga, became engaged. Otunga, known as "Punk" on the TV reality show I Love New York 2, proposed to the singer on her 27th birthday.

Sadly, tragedy struck Hudson's life when her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, disappeared, and her mother and brother were killed in a double-homicide. Little Julian’s lifeless body was found days later in an abandoned car.  An outpouring of support came from adoring fans, while Hudson mourned the loss of three family members in private.

Hudson made her first public appearance after the tragedy when she sang the national anthem during Super Bowl XLIII. She then went on tour and made several television appearances, including a special guest appearance on the eighth season of American Idol.