Jennifer Hudson is a female singer.
Jennifer Kate Hudson ( born September 12 , 1981 ) is an American singer , actress and spokesperson . She rose to fame in 2004 as a finalist on the third season of American Idol , coming in seventh place . 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 ) . Smash is an American musical drama television series created by playwright Theresa Rebeck and developed by Robert Greenblatt for NBC .