Jennifer Kate Hudson

Academy Award winning American actress and singer. She first gained notice as one of the finalists on the third season of the FOX television series American Idol. She went on to star as Effie Melody White in the 2006 musical film Dreamgirls, for which she won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and a SAG Award.
Long before landing the coveted role of "Effie" in the upcoming film version of the legendary Broadway musical DREAMGIRLS, Jennifer Hudson sang for the very first time before a small church in her native Chicago, bringing the congregation to its feet with soul- stirring solo performances week after week. Hudson, now 25, attributes her vocal ability to her late maternal grandmother, Julia Kate Hudson, a long-time choir member.
American Idol:Hudson auditioned for the third season of American Idol in Atlanta, Georgia. She was a member of the first group of semifinalists. She was not voted through to the final round, although she was brought back on the wildcard round and put through as a finalist by contest judge Randy Jackson.
Dreamgirls:In November 2005, Hudson was cast in the prized role of Effie White, the role originally created in a legendary Broadway performance by Jennifer Holliday, for the film adaptation of the musical Dreamgirls. Hudson won the role over hundreds of professional singers and actresses.[2] Filming of Dreamgirls began on January 9, 2006, and the film went into limited release on December 25, 2006 and national release on January 12, 2007.
Hudson has won particular praise for her show-stopping onscreen rendition of the hit song, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", the signature song of the role, which had earlier been recorded, and had already reached the status of musical standard, because of the definitive performance of Jennifer Holliday. The New York Observer described Hudson's performance of the song as "five mellifluous, molto vibrato minutes that have suddenly catapulted Ms. Hudson... into the position of front-runner for the best supporting actress Oscar." Newsweek said that when moviegoers hear Hudson sing the song, she "is going to raise goose bumps across the land." New York Daily News proclaimed, "When she sings 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' -- one of the most heartfelt cries of pain ever written for a musical -- Hudson inscribes her name on an Oscar." Variety wrote that Hudson's performance "calls to mind debuts like Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl or Bette Midler in The Rose, with a voice like the young Aretha."
As Effie White, Hudson has garnered more than twenty four awards and nominations from film critics as Best Supporting Actress and Breakthrough Performer of 2006.
She won a Golden Globe Award as Best Actress in a Supporting Role, dedicating the award to Florence Ballard (upon whom her Dreamgirls character was based), as well as friends Jasmine Trias, Fantasia Barrino, and the rest of the American Idol Season 3 finalists.[2].In addition, she has been named Best Supporting Actress by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and also by the Screen Actors Guild. On February 7, 2007, Hudson was named Best Supporting Actress and Best Breakthrough Performance by the Black Reel Awards, awarded by the Foundation For The Advancement Of African-Americans In Film.
On February 25, 2007, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in this film. At 25 years old, Hudson became the eighth youngest winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. She also became only the third African-American to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, after Hattie McDaniel for Gone with the Wind and Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost. During her acceptance speech Hudson said through tears of joy, "Oh my God, I have to just take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do. I didn't think I was going to win." "If my grandmother was here to see me now. She was my biggest inspiration." She also concluded her speech by thanking Jennifer Holliday.
In November 2006, Hudson signed a record deal with Clive Davis's label, Arista Records. Davis has guided the careers of such legendary artists as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Dionne Warwick.
With the March 2007 issue, Jennifer Hudson became the third African-American to grace the cover of Vogue magazine.

http://www.jenniferhudson.net

http://www.jenniferhudsononline.com/

Rozonda Ocelean Thomas

: R&B singer and actress best known by her stage name, Chilli.In 1991 she joined the group TLC, replacing founding member Crystal Jones. In 1995, and again in 2003, she was voted one of People magazine's "The 50 Most Beautiful People".
In the time since TLC broke up, Thomas has hosted a radio show in Atlanta and has engaged in charitable activities. She made guest appearances on shows such as The Parkers, That 70s Show, and Strong Medicine. In 2000 she was featured in the made-for-television movies A Diva's Christmas Carol (with Vanessa L. Williams) and Love Song (with Monica), and in the film Snow Day. In 2001 she co-starred in the action film Ticker.
In 2006 Thomas signed a four-album deal with Akon's Interscope Records label Kon Live Distribution, which will release her solo debut album, Point Of View, tentatively due sometime in early 2007. The album will include work done with executive producers Akon and Missy Elliott as well as tracks produced by Timbaland and Will.i.am. Some of the songs have already been leaked on the Internet. A track titled "Gameproof" was leaked in Spring 2006, and in January 2007 a demo version of another, "No Rings On These Fingers," was posted on ChilliFan.com. On February 16, 2007, "Straight Jack", a Missy Elliott track said to be the lead single from the new album, was leaked in a mixtape and later on the Internet. Chilli both sings and raps on the leaked tracks.
http://www.chilli-online.net/

Mary Jane Blige

Mary Jane Blige (born in The Bronx, New York), is a six-time Grammy Award-winning American R&B, soul, and hip-hop soul singer, songwriter, producer, and actress who has sold more than 34 million records worldwide (according to a March 2007 interview with VIBE). She is widely known as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul."
Blige made her acting debut in 1998 on The Jamie Foxx Show playing Ola Mae, a preacher's daughter who wanted to sing more than gospel music. In 2001, she played Mrs. Butler in the independent feature film, Prison Song, starring rapper Q-Tip. The same year, Blige made a cameo on the Lifetime network series, Strong Medicine, playing Simone Fellows, a band's lead singer who is sick, but won't get help.
In 2004, Blige starred in her first off-Broadway play, The Exonerated. The play chronicled the experiences of real death row inmates. Blige portrayed Sunny Jacobs, a woman who spent twenty years in prison for a crime she did not commit.
In December 2005, it was reported that Blige had landed the starring role in the upcoming MTV Films biopic on Nina Simone. The film's writer, Cynthia Mort, said Blige was the perfect person to bring Simone to life. There is no word yet as to when the film will start shooting.
"Brook Lynn"
In 2006, on a guest appearance for Busta Rhymes' "Touch It" (Remix), Mary revealed that she had also performed using an alter ego, as rapper Brook Lynn. Brook is also featured on "Enough Cryin" and "Gonna Breakthrough" on the The Breakthrough.
In February 2007, she guest-starred on the Ghost Whisperer episode "Mean Ghost", aired on CBS on February 9, as Jackie Boyd, a grievous cheerleading coach that must cope over the death of her brother and deal with a dead cheerleader harming her team. Throughout the episode several of Blige's songs were played.

http://www.mjblige.com/

Debbie Allen

Born in Houston, Texas, Educated at Howard University, BFA (with Honors), Studied with Ballet Nacional and Ballet Folklorico (Mexico); Houston Ballet Foundation, Houston Texas; New York School of Ballet. Married to NBA Alum Norm Nixon; children: Vivian Nicole, Norm, Jr.

Allen began her career as a dancer with George Faison Universal Dance Experience; AMAS Repertory Theatre; taught dance, Duke Ellington School

of Performing Arts; Television Mainstay as an actor, producer, director coreographer of various television shows, miniseries, and specials. Director: Everybody Hates Chris: All of Us: Life Is Not A Fairy Tale: That's So Raven: The Jamie Foxx Show: A Different World: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Family Ties: Fame (television): Polly: Polly: Comin' Home Producer: Amistad with Steven Spielberg. Honors:

Debbie Allen was appointed by President George W. Bush as a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.Emmy Awards,Golden Globe Award for Choreography,Ford Foundation Grant;Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Clarence Muse Youth Award,Drama Desk Award,Out Critics Circle Award

when Debbie Allen became the producer-director of the popular television series, A Different World (which dealt with the life of students at the fictional historically Black college, Hillman, and ran for six seasons on NBC), Allen, herself,a graduate of historically black Howard University--drew from her college experiences in an effort to accurately reflect in the show the social and political life on black campuses. Moreover, Allen instituted a yearly spring trip to Atlanta where series writers visited two of the nation's leading black colleges, Morehouse and Spelman. During these visits, ideas for several of the episodes emerged from meetings with students and faculty

"Presently, Allen is one of the few African American women working as a director and producer in television and film. Her success in TV and film production has not deterred her from her love of dance and she continues to dazzle television viewers with her choreography. In 1982, she choreographed the dance numbers for the Academy Awards and for the past consecutive five years, her unique style of choreography has been featured on the worldwide broadcast of the Award ceremony. For over twenty years, Allen's contributions to television, on the three major networks and in syndicated programming, have highlighted the maturity of a performer and artistic producer with an impressive spectrum of talents in the performing arts. "
-Marla Shelton

Allen currently teaches young dancers at her Debbie Allen Dance Academy. She also taught choreography to former L.A. Laker dancer-turned singer, Paula Abdul. Her daughter, Vivian Nixon, played Kalimba in the Broadway Production of Hot Feet. She is the sister of Phylicia Rashād.

http://www.debbieallendanceacademy.com/

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles

Ten-time Grammy Award-winning American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, Golden Globe Award-nominated actress, dancer, and fashion designer and model for House of Deréon. Knowles rose to fame as the creative force and lead singer of R&B girl group Destiny's Child, the best-selling female group of all time, with over fifty million records sold.
After a series of commercially successful releases with the group, Knowles released her debut solo album Dangerously in Love in 2003. The album became one of the biggest commercial successes of the year, topping the album charts in the U.S. and the UK. It also spawned the number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy" and earned Beyoncé a record-tying five Grammy Awards in a single night in 2004. Knowles' sophomore album, B’Day, which was released worldwide on September 4, 2006 (her twenty-fifth birthday), continued her success. The album spawned the UK number-one single "Deja Vu", "Ring the Alarm", and the worldwide number-one hit "Irreplaceable", and earned Knowles her seventh solo Grammy Award. As a solo artist, Knowles has sold more than twelve million albums worldwide.
Knowles has contributed to the soundtracks of films in which she has starred, including Dreamgirls (2006), for which she received two Golden Globe Award nominations, one for acting and another for the soul hit "Listen".
Knowles is the oldest of two daughters born to Mathew Knowles and Tina Beyince in Houston, Texas. Her father is African-American and her mother is an African-American of Louisiana Creole descent. Her parents decided on her first name as a tribute to her mother's maiden name. Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Beyince and Agnéz Deréon (a seamstress), were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles. She is the older sister of Solange Knowles, cousin to Angela Beyincé (her personal assistant and song co-writer), and aunt to Solange's son Daniel Juelz Smith.
By age seven, she was attending dance school and was a soloist in her church's choir. Her dance instructor took an interest in Knowles and took her star student to various competitions. Knowles went on to win over thirty local singing and dancing competitions.


Personal life:Since 2002, Knowles privately and as of lately publicly dated rapper Jay-Z. The couple have never publicly discussed their relationship, but have been steadily coming out of their shell as a couple. Knowles has stated that she believes that not publicly discussing their relationship has helped them. Jay-Z has said in a People magazine article that "we don't play with our relationship".

Film career:In 2001, Knowles turned to acting, starring alongside actor Mekhi Phifer in the MTV made-for-television film Carmen: A Hip Hopera.
In the summer of 2002, Beyoncé co-starred in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, playing Foxxy Cleopatra opposite Mike Myers and Michael Caine. Beyoncé also recorded the song "Work It Out" for the film's soundtrack. "Work It Out" was a top ten hit in the UK and a top forty hit in the Netherlands, Australia, and Ireland, despite being Knowles' biggest commercial disappointment to date in the U.S., where radio stations barely played the song and the video received very minor exposure, playing only on digital video channels, MTV Jams, and VH1 Soul.
In 2003, Knowles starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the film The Fighting Temptations, and recorded a song for it called "Fighting Temptation", alongside female rappers Missy Elliott, MC Lyte, and Free. Unlike Knowles' own singles, the song did not become a hit, although the film was a moderate success at the box office.
Knowles co-starred in the film The Pink Panther, playing the role of Xania, an international pop star, opposite Steve Martin, who plays Inspector Clouseau. The film was released on February 10, 2006, and was number one at the box office on its opening weekend.[10] With Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Pink Panther, Knowles appeared in two films that opened at number one at the box office; the two films have grossed over $481,364,728 worldwide.

Knowles' latest film work is Dreamgirls, the film adaptation of the hit 1981 Broadway musical about a 1960s singing group loosely based on Motown all-female group The Supremes, as the Diana Ross-based character Deena Jones. The film received a limited release on December 15, 2006 and a wider release on December 25, 2006. On December 14, 2006, Beyoncé was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for the film Dreamgirls — "Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy" and "Best Original Song" for "Listen".The film opened number three at the box office with an eight-million-dollar opening weekend. Beyoncé was quoted to say this was her first real acting film. Dreamgirls was nominated for eight 2007 Academy Awards — including "Best Original Song" for "Listen" —, of which it won two. The film has passed the $100 million dollar gross mark in the United States.

Philanthropy:Knowles, music producer David Foster, and his daughter, Amy Foster Gillies, wrote Destiny's Child's single "Stand Up for Love" for World Children's Day, an event which takes place annually around the world on November 20 to raise awareness and funds for children's causes worldwide. Destiny's Child lent their voices and support as global ambassadors for the 2005 World Children's Day program.


http://www.beyonce.com/
http://www.houseofdereon.com/intro/
http://www.dereon.com/