In a recent interview, former The Voice coach and American Idol alum, Jennifer Hudson, opened up about a shocking family discovery regarding her father.
Jennifer Hudson sat down to chat with Michele Norris of the “Your Mama’s Kitchen” podcast recently and opened up about her family life, including her father and siblings.
Perhaps the hottest topic of the interview was Hudson’s admission that her father had 27 children. The singer, 42, found out about her large family when she was just 16. She told Norris that she started dreaming of having all 26 of her siblings “at this grand Thanksgiving or Christmas table, and we all sit and eat together.”
Hudson further explained that she first connected with more of her siblings, in addition to the two she was raised with, at her paternal grandmother’s funeral.
“When my grandma on his side passed, my siblings over there were like, ‘Y’all got a sister that can really sing, you should meet her,’” she revealed. “And eventually, we all came together.”
“We found quite a few of us. And I’m the youngest of all of them,” Jennifer shared of her 16 brothers and 10 sisters.
Hudson first revealed that she had a large family in a 2019 interview with The Guardian. She told the outlet that her father was a Greyhound bus driver who was absent for most of her childhood. When she turned 15, she and her sister decided to find their dad.
“[Mother] said, ‘If you want to, go ahead.’ Once we found him, he moved in with us and never left us until he died. His name was Sam. He was supposed to drive me to college, but he passed before he could. That was when I was 16,” Jennifer recalled.
About Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson, also known by JHud, rose to fame after competing on the third season of American Idol in 2004. While Hudson didn’t win, she went on to become one of the show’s most successful alumni
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Two years later, Jennifer starred in the major motion picture Dreamgirls. The role won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, launching her to superstardom as a multi-talented personality. In 2008 she released her self-titled debut album and won her first Grammy Award.
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Jennifer Hudson went on to star in and produce more movies, television shows, and Broadway musicals. In 2021, she took home a Daytime Emmy trophy for Outstanding Interactive Media for a Daytime Program as a producer for Baba Yaga. One year later, she won a Tony Award in 2022 as a producer of Strange Loop.
Hudson is one of only 17 individuals to have won a rare EGOT honor. An EGOT is someone who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.
Jennifer served as a coach on the U.S. and UK versions of The Voice, becoming the first female coach to win a title in the UK.