By Jim Servin
Chameleonic singer-actress-producer-talk show host Jennifer Hudson, 42, has entered legend-icon status. In 2022, she became the youngest woman and the third African American to win all four major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, also known as EGOT. The bubbly host of The Jennifer Hudson Show (just one of her facets—check out her robust, often gritty portrayal of Aretha Franklin in the 2021 film Respect) shares life in Chicago and Los Angeles with her 15-year-old son, David. From the Olympics in Paris, the day before she delivered a surprise vocal performance at Versailles, Hudson spoke with Purist about faith, fame, new music and her personal wellness protocols that include naps, shopping and chocolate—a life of celebration.
JIM SERVIN: So much has happened in your life in a short amount of time, and you have stayed balanced and strong. What keeps you centered?
JENNIFER HUDSON: Mostly my faith and my upbringing—my mother’s and grandmother’s teachings. When I get stuck or confused, I say to myself, What would my grandmother or mother do? That helps get me through a lot. And keeping my faith in God.
JS: In your film, Respect, the Aretha Franklin biopic, there’s a moment where Aretha says something that seemed to resonate with you personally: “I need the church, I need the spirit. It has always gotten me through, and it will get me through again.” I don’t know if you remember when you said that line.
JH: Oh, I do. It definitely resonates with me as well. It’s amazing that stuck out to you. I’m similar in that way, having that faith and knowing you go to God. That’s what my grandmother and my mother would always say. And Aretha said it.
JS: Any other takeaways from Aretha’s life that you’ve made your own?
JH: So many things. It was probably just seeing her make it through life and prevail, no matter what she went through. Before she passed, we used to speak often. During that time, I was just thinking she was saying things. But then when I started to portray her, I realized that she had been speaking to me from her life experiences. Telling somebody’s story, their testimony, can’t help but help your own life.
JS: You’ve earned critical acclaim in films like Dreamgirls, for which you won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and so many other awards. But your road to glory began with a very public loss on American Idol. Did that experience help you put the winning streak into perspective, and keep your equilibrium? Maybe it was better that you weren’t the American Idol champion, and then after that you got all the prizes.
JH: It definitely put things into perspective. I remember being in the bottom three on American Idol, and then being eliminated. I said to myself: Wait, I do this because I love it, and as long as I have my talent that doesn’t mean it’s over. I have my gifts, and just because I didn’t win this competition doesn’t mean that I can’t go on. So, when Dreamgirls rolled around, it was a second chance. I took advantage of that opportunity. To this day I say, Give me the opportunity and I’m going to make it work. Every experience prepares you for the next.
JS: People say awards don’t mean anything, that it’s all about the work. But it must be fun to win them, too.
JH: It does feel nice. It gives you encouragement to keep going. Even if you don’t win, you remind yourself why you do what you do. Most of all, I do it for the love. I think that’s why I’ve been able to achieve so much. Not everything is going to be Dreamgirls, and if I sat and waited for everything to be Dreamgirls, I wouldn’t have a career. What drives me the most is being blessed to be able to do what I love every day. Even if I didn’t achieve all of these things, I would still be doing this. Which is why I don’t sleep much. I’m working and it’s like, well, if I wasn’t doing it, I would be sitting up dreaming that I was doing it. Do you know what I mean? I like to embrace it.
JS: How many hours of sleep do you get?
JH: Well, at JHUD Productions we sleep when we can, but make it count. Of course we need our rest. Know what your schedule is, and figure out when to get that rest in. Try to keep that balance so that you are rested physically, mentally and emotionally. Being here in Paris, taking naps throughout the day is helping me with jet lag.
JS: Are you shopping for fashion in Paris?
JH: Oh, I am a shopper. I chose to sleep this afternoon, but I can get to shopping again.
JS: Who are your favorite designers?
JH: I don’t think I have any one in particular right now. Honey, I shop from Target to Balenciaga to Louis Vuitton or whatever. It doesn’t even have to be a brand, or it may be a brand. I went to a shop out here and got me the cutest little jewelry pieces, had a ball. I bought a cute little stuffed elephant today, because it made me feel good. Little things like that just make me happy. It just does something for my spirit.
JS: When you wake up from your nap, or a night of sleep, is your first thought, “I’m an EGOT”?
JH: That is funny. You know what? I can’t say yes to that. I do have an EGOT ring, and an EGOT bracelet. I said I have to wear this at the Olympics, because someone has to represent the EGOT, and that would be me. I’m going to walk around with my medals today. But I don’t wake up and say, Hey, I’m an EGOT.
JS: Is there an official EGOT ring? Do they present you with one, or did you have one made?
JH: I had it made. I speak everything into existence, in some form. Before I won the Oscar, I got a dog and I named him Oscar, and then I won the Oscar. Then I got another dog and named him Grammy, and then I won a Grammy. Everybody started saying OK, she’s going to be an EGOT one day. And so instead of getting a dog or another animal to name Emmy and Tony, which were the two awards I needed to complete an EGOT, I made jewelry. So, I have an EGO ring. Then I had another ring made and added the T. Once I won the Tony (in 2022, as a producer of A Strange Loop, Best Musical), I bought a vintage Italian gold bracelet and had it engraved EGOT.
JS: I just watched you on YouTube accepting your Grammy (for Best R&B Album, Jennifer Hudson, in 2009) from Whitney Houston. People commented on how the first thing you did was hug her. It seemed important for you to hug this person you loved so much before taking the prize.
JH: Getting the Grammy from Whitney outshined winning the Grammy. Whitney Houston is my absolute favorite ever. So, you read it right.
JS: Where are you at creatively now? Are you back in the studio? Can you share any developments, inspirations?
JH: Right now I am in a very musical space. I literally go from industry to industry. I call this “my singing summer.” Every day is a different song, and I’ve been around a lot of music, and it’s inspired me so much. I’ve never been more influenced by hip-hop. Afrobeat is my absolute favorite style of music. That’s resonating with me as well. Everything is pouring out of me that I love, and I’m loving seeing how it’s coming together. I’m trying to expand even beyond that, getting involved more from a production standpoint. I’m writing more. I normally always have a keyboard in my room, but I don’t have one with me here now in Paris. I always want one around, because when it comes to creativity, you never know when it’s going to hit.
JS: This will be your first album in 10 years.
JH: Apparently. I don’t believe that. That’s what you all say. Is that true? The reason why it doesn’t seem real to me is because I’m always singing. Everything I do, I sing.
JS: What are your wellness rituals?
JH: I find my inner peace walking. I’m an artist, so it can come out in being creative, like drawing, or shopping, which is therapeutic to me. I love affirmations. I love nature, sitting on park benches. Life is on pause on the bench. The world is working around you.
JS: Favorite inspirational quote?
JH: Right now it is—I keep saying it, I say it three times—“Every man is a golden link for my prosperity and my good.” Whoever I’m with, I say it and I make them say it and keep repeating it. That’s where I’m at right now.
JS: Strenuous exercise doesn’t appeal to you?
JH: No, I like things to be enjoyable. I don’t think everything should be in the gym and on a machine. I like to blend my worlds. I’ll take a walk where I’m enjoying nature and outside, but still being active and it’s fun. I play basketball with my 15-year-old son, David, and the boys. I love bike riding. I consider shopping to be exercise, as well.
JS: You famously lost weight—80 pounds in one year—and wrote a book about it, titled I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down. Are you still very conscious about your diet? What’s your favorite indulgence?
JH: My favorite indulgence will always be chocolate. I love milk chocolate. If you eat what you want, you won’t overeat. I like to make sure that I eat what I want. My mother used to say that when you get older, a little bit more weight looks better on you. So, I’ve allowed myself a little bit more weight. It’s not about losing weight. It’s being able to be whatever weight you want to be. I control it to my liking.
JS: On your talk show, The Jennifer Hudson Show, the colors of the set and your wardrobe are so playful. Is your home like that? Do you like a very vibrant environment?
JH: All of that is important. I’m sensitive to energies. You know what? I need the sun. When I was on The Voice, they used to call me Solar Panel. At home, it depends. Sometimes when I want calm, I don’t like it to be too bright. Most importantly, I love the outdoors. Even when I’m doing the show I say, Hey, I need to go sit out on a bench, or walk through a garden or ride my bike, as long as I get that sun, that brightness in the day.
The third season of The Jennifer Hudson Show begins airing in fall 2024.