[1] She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as Dreamgirls (1981–83), Your Arms Too Short to Box with God (1980–1981) and later became a successful recording artist.
[1] She is best known for her debut single, the Dreamgirls number and rhythm-and-blues/pop hit, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", for which she won a Grammy Award in 1983.
Her performance was widely acclaimed, particularly in her iconic rendition of the musical number that ends Act I, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.
Holliday's version of the song "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" made her a star on Broadway and catapulted her to national stardom.
Holliday's later R&B hits included "Hard Time For Lovers" (1985), "No Frills Love" (1985), "I'm On Your Side" (1991) and "A Woman's Got the Power" (2000).
On October 30, 1986, Paul Simon hosted a Ken Ehrlich-produced "Gospel Session" originally televised as part of a series of "Cinemax Sessions" featuring Holliday, Luther Vandross, The Oak Ridge Boys, Andrae Crouch, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, and the Mighty Clouds of Joy.
A reviewer wrote: Ms. Holliday's performance and Simon's long-term repertoire of gospel-influenced songbook ("Bridge", "Gone at Last", "Slip Slidin' Away", and "Loves Me Like A Rock" [not included here] is the glue that holds the show together.
Visually intriguing is the role reversal of a larger-than-life Jennifer Holliday and a waif-thin Luther Vandross.
[citation needed] In the 1990s, Holliday lost a substantial amount of weight and talked about her health struggles with depression during promotional interviews.
[5] In April 2011, Holliday released a Christian CD titled Goodness and Mercy[6] on her own Euphonic Records label.
In addition to appearances on Touched by an Angel and Hang Time, she had a half dozen appearances in a recurring guest star role on Ally McBeal, where she acted out the role of choir director Lisa Knowles, often singing popular ballads.
In 2001, Holliday opened Unforgiven by singing "America the Beautiful", which was the first WWE pay-per-view to be held after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
On June 26, 2007, Holliday made a surprise appearance at the BET Awards, singing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" in a duet with Jennifer Hudson, who had played Effie White in the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls, and won an Oscar for her performance.
Holliday had not been offered a cameo role in the film and, feeling snubbed, had repeatedly expressed displeasure with the movie in the media.
On October 2, 2018, Holliday surprised the seven year old viral singing sensation, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja on GMA Day, and they performed a duet of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going".
[9] On July 30, 2020, Jennifer Holliday sang “Only What You Do for Christ Will Last” as well as "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at the funeral of civil rights icon and congressman John Lewis at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.