• Faith: Christian
• Career: Actress
• Birthday:  September 12, 1981

Jennifer Hudson is an American singer and actress. The Chicago native made her television debut on the hit show American Idol in 2004. However, she was voted off by fans after making the top 7. A few years later, she shocked the "American Idol world" with the drastic breakthrough moment in her career. In 2006, she rose to fame in her breakout role as Effie White in the Academy Award-winning movie Dream Girls.

Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson stars in the movie "RESPECT" as the iconic Aretha Franklin. The actress expressed in an interview that her Christian faith and church upbringing helped her resonate closely with Franklin's religious background to produce the film.

Before Franklin's unfortunate passing in 2018, the Queen of Soul took the award-winning actress under her wing and gave Hudson guidance on the entertainment industry. Given their prior friendship and special bond, the extremely talented Hudson was a perfect fit to play her mentor years later.

Hudson gave heartfelt performances during many worship scenes filmed at First Congregational Church in Atlanta, GA. In an interview, the Grammy Award-winning actress expressed that she had to pull inspiration for the character from her Christian faith to prepare for such an infamous role.

"I am a child of God, born in the church. It's so natural," the highly acclaimed actress stated in an interview about the film. "I feel like one of our closest connections is our faith — with having that background coming from the church, which I completely understood instantly," Hudson spoke fondly of her friend and mentor.

Hudson has had a wildly successful music and film career, earning a plethora of awards along the way. She has won a Golden Globe Award, an Academy Award, and two Grammy Awards.