Jennifer Hudson (born September 12, 1981) is an American singer, actress and spokesperson. As an actress, she made her film debut portraying Effie White in Dreamgirls, for which she gained worldwide acclaim and won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2015, she made her Broadway debut in the role of Shug Avery in the revival of The Color Purple. Her debut album Jennifer Hudson, released in 2008, debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA, with sales exceeding a million copies worldwide. The record was nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning the 2009 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. She also became the principal singer of The Color Purple musical album, which earned her the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program (shared with the cast of The Color Purple). In 2016, Hudson was announced as a coach on the 2017 Series of The Voice UK, where she became the first female coach to win. (More from Wikipedia)
In addition to Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson of Heart, there are a host of Wilsons who have made popular music over the years. The Beach Boys – “America’s band” according to no less than President Ronald Reagan (whose middle name is Wilson, come to think of it) – was founded in 1961 by Brian Wilson, his brothers Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson, and their cousin Mike Love; Al Jardine was the one original bandmember not in the family. Another Nancy Wilson is a top-notch jazz vocalist who started in the 1960’s and frequently crossed over to the R&B and rock charts. Mary Wilson was one of the founding members of the Supremes; the story of the other bandmembers being eclipsed by lead singer Diana Ross formed the main storyline for the Broadway musical Dreamgirls that later made Jennifer Hudson a star in the film version, Dreamgirls. Then there are R&B singers Jackie Wilson and Wilson Pickett, country star Gretchen Wilson, comedian and chef Justin Wilson, and many others.
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