Jennifer Hudson did not always strive to be an actress. Growing up in Chicago, Jennifer was a little girl with a big voice. Drawing strength from her family and community in Chicago, Jennifer learned early on to love the spotlight. At age seven, she followed in her grandmother's footsteps and sang solos for the local church choir. She used to tell her mother that her name was "a famous-sounding name." She thought that "Jennifer Hudson" rolled off the tongue like the names of her idols: Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston.

Jennifer's first real bid for fame arrived in 2004, when she tried out for the 3rd season of "American Idol." She was confident and talented—holding her own with songs like Aretha Franklin's "Respect." Nevertheless, she was not the judges' favorite. One judge even made fun of her weight. Jennifer was voted off the show at an unremarkable 7th place.