Jennifer Hudson is a person.
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 . 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 . Her third and most recent album JHUD peaked in the top ten and featured the Grammy-nominated track `` It 's Your World '' .