Having received numerous accolades for her work in music, film, television, and theater, Hudson became the youngest woman and third African-American recipient of all four major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT) in 2022.

She has since portrayed Aretha Franklin in the musical biopic Respect (2021) and acted in films such as Sex and the City (2008), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Winnie Mandela (2011), Black Nativity (2013), Sing (2016), Cats (2019).

[16] At age 7 she got her start in performing by singing with the church choir and doing community theater with the help of her late maternal grandmother, Julia.

[21][22] In May 2009, MTV listed Hudson as the sixth greatest contestant in American Idol history and noted her exit was the most shocking of all time.

[24] In one of her first appearances on a record, Hudson is featured in a duet, "The Future Ain't What It Used to Be", on Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose.

[26] Hudson also recorded a song she co-wrote with Bill Grainer and Earl Powell called "Stand Up", which was available for preview on her fan website.

In November 2005, Hudson was cast in the role of Effie White for the film adaptation of the musical Dreamgirls, which also starred Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles and Eddie Murphy.

"[30] Variety magazine wrote that Hudson's performance "calls to mind debuts like Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl or Bette Midler in The Rose, with a voice like the young Aretha".

After seeing Hudson's performance in Dreamgirls, Simon Cowell taped a congratulatory message to her, which aired on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

[citation needed] Later in 2007, the mayor of her home town, Chicago, Richard M. Daley, declared March 6 as "Jennifer Hudson Day".

[39] In October 2008, Hudson made her third film appearance in The Secret Life of Bees as Rosaleen, the mother figure of Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning).

In 2009, Hudson starred as Kathy Archenault in Fragments, a film based on the novel by Roy Freirich, with Dakota Fanning and Forest Whitaker.

[41] Andre Pieterse and Roodt and Paul L. Johnson based the film's script on Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob's biography, Winnie Mandela: A Life.

[42] The Creative Workers Union of South Africa have opposed this choice, stating they will push for a moratorium on the film if the casting is not reversed.

Her label was reportedly unhappy with the direction they were sending Hudson musically and decided it would be best to scrap the older songs and instead focus on new ones.

Her debut studio album, Jennifer Hudson, was released on September 30, 2008, on Arista and was written by Ne-Yo, who co-produced along with Stargate.

Additional contributors on the album include Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Robin Thicke, Harvey Mason, Jr., Diane Warren, Earl Powell, and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, among others.

[49] In February 2009, Hudson made her first public appearance since the murders when she sang the Star-Spangled Banner at Super Bowl XLIII.

[86] In October 2013, Hudson starred in the coming of age drama The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete alongside Jordin Sparks as well as the drama/musical Black Nativity.

[89] At the 87th Academy Awards, Hudson performed her song (originally from NBC's Smash) "I Can't Let Go" by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman as a tribute to the individuals Hollywood lost in the previous year.

On Radio Disney, Iggy revealed that the collaboration happened after their previous work, she liked her voice and wanted Jennifer to sing the hook for it.

Hudson helped welcome Pope Francis on his first visit to the United States by singing her rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah".

New York Times critic Ben Brantley hailed her performance saying, "Ms. Hudson radiates a lush, supple stage presence that is echoed by her velvet voice.

"[98] Meanwhile, Hudson picked up a few minor film roles, including in Spike Lee's musical Chi-Raq, and HBO's Confirmation, alongside Kerry Washington.

Hudson lent her voice to the younger version of the character Nana Noodleman in the Illumination Entertainment film, Sing, which was released December 21, 2016.

On January 27, 2018, Clive Davis disclosed that Hudson had been handpicked by Aretha Franklin to portray her in an eventual biopic with a prospective release date in 2021.

[110] In March 2020, Hudson collaborated with Bono, Will.i.am, and Yoshiki to create "#SING4LIFE", a song written and compiled remotely by the four musicians to lift spirits during the COVID-19 crisis.

[120] On August 21, Hudson performed "Nessun Dorma" at We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert backed by New York Philharmonic in Central Park.

Hudson met David Otunga, a professional wrestler in the WWE and a Harvard Law graduate,[132] and the couple became engaged in September 2008.

[138][139] Three days later the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed a body found on Chicago's West Side was the nephew; an autopsy indicated he had died from "multiple gunshot wounds".