Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Kate Hudson was born September 12, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois. A naturally outgoing and charismatic child, she sang in public for the first time at the age of 7 when she was given the opportunity to lead her congregation in a rousing gospel number. "I really enjoyed getting the church up on their feet, their hips swaying, their hands clapping, it's was a great feeling to evoke that energy for the Lord," she recalls. That initial performance hooked her, and Jennifer spent the rest of her childhood starring in school talent shows, local music productions and church socials. Jennifer turned her passion into her profession in 2002, when she landed a six-month gig as a featured vocalist aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship. Although she was grateful for the work, Jennifer admits the experience was sometimes unnerving, particularly given her complete inability to swim. "Once you get on the ship, you have to do [emergency] drills with the officers," she recalls. "We had to do a 'wet' drill and I'm thinking it's going to be a little sprinkle. Honey, they took us out and hung us over the side of the ship in one of those little boats just in midair and then they made us get out at Castaway Key and hop off of a two-story cliff into the water."

In September 2006, Hudson performed the song "Over It" live on Fox Chicago Morning News. In the interview she stated the song would be included on her debut album, to be released in early 2007 however this was before she signed with Arista. On the Oprah Show, Hudson announced plans to enter the studio in March 2007. Hudson said on the Tyra Banks Show on February 23 that she just finished the first song for the album. Hudson also recorded a song called "Stand Up" which is available for on her fan website to purchase.

In November 2006, Hudson signed a record deal with Arista Records and is currently working on her debut album and has recently finished recording one song entitled "Depreciate." The album, which had previously been given a November 2007 date, is now scheduled for the first quarter of 2008.

"Special", featuring Papoose, and "Pocketbook" (featuring Ludacris), were both rumoured to be singles, but never materialised.

Hudson has been dating maintenance engineer James Peyton since 1999 when she was 18. They both hail from Chicago. When asked if they had any plans to marry, Hudson declared that "we are happy with the place we are right now, but perhaps we will tie the knot someday. One thing's for sure, I definitely won't be popping the question!".