Jennifer Hudson recently achieved EGOT status at the 2022 Tony Awards. EGOT status means that someone has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. Each award signifies excellence in each medium of entertainment; television, music, movies, and theater. Only 17 people have achieved EGOT status, so it's a very elite club, one that Hudson is the latest to become a member of.

Related: Jennifer Hudson And Other Actors Who Starred In Iconic Biopics

Hudson began her career many years ago on American Idol, which she did not win. Her career has more than made up for that, however. She has definitely gone on to become one of the most successful Idol contestants over the years. Not only has Hudson achieved EGOT status, but she has also accomplished many other things in her life. Let's take a look at what the star has accomplished in her 40 years on this earth.

8 Jennifer Hudson Made It Big On American Idol

Although Hudson didn't win American Idol, she gained a massive following for her talent. Even though she ended up finishing in 7th place, nevertheless, it ended up being a big launching pad for her career that was to come. Hudson auditioned for American Idol with an Aretha Franklin song and had no idea she would one day play the legend onscreen in the film Respect.

7 Jennifer Hudson Is Starting A Daytime Talk Show

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hudson is set to debut a new talk show in September 2022, with the producing team from Ellen. The Ellen DeGeneres Show ran for 19 long seasons, with incredible success. Hopefully, Hudson's show will experience similar success. Hudson's show will also be from Warner Bros. and will be filmed at the same studio where Ellen filmed her show. The show will appropriately be titled The Jennifer Hudson Show.

6 Jennifer Hudson Wrote A Book

Hudson is not only an amazing singer and accomplished actress, but she's also a New York Times best-selling author. She wrote a book titled I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down that was released in 2012 and chronicled the story of how she lost over 80 pounds and was able to keep it off.

Related: Everything Former Costars Have Said About 'Respect' Star Jennifer Hudson

5 Jennifer Hudson Appeared In The Sex and the City Movie

Jennifer Hudson landed the role of Carrie Bradshaw's assistant in the first Sex and the City movie, which has always been a super-popular franchise that has received tons of media attention throughout the years. Most notably, she is a woman of color, who up until that point had rarely been featured in the series. It has also been rumored that Hudson's character from the movie will be making an appearance in the And Just Like That... series, to which Hudson has said she would totally be down for. "I hope so! That would be cool. I'm down," she told Entertainment Tonight in January 2021.

4 Jennifer Hudson Won A SAG Award

Hudson won a Screen Actors Guild award in 2007 for Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her role as Effie White in Dreamgirls. Hudson was also included in the nomination for the cast of Dreamgirls that year, but they lost out to the cast of Little Miss Sunshine. She was also nominated in 2022 for her role as Aretha Franklin in Respect in 2022, but did not win.

3 Jennifer Hudson Won A Golden Globe Award

Hudson also won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Effie in Dreamgirls in 2007. In her acceptance speech, Hudson said "I have always dreamed, but never, ever this big. Ever. This goes far beyond anything I could have ever imagined." Holding back tears, she added "You do not know how much this does for my confidence. Because of this, it makes me feel like I'm a part of a community. It makes me feel like an actress and you do not understand how much that feels good to say."

Related: Jennifer Hudson Was Told To Change Her Appearance For This Iconic Film

2 Jennifer Hudson Won A BAFTA Award

Hudson also won an award for her performance in Dreamgirls across the pond. BAFTA stands for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. On The Graham Norton show several years after winning the BAFTA, Hudson revealed that she wasn't able to attend the award show, and somehow her award got lost when they tried to ship it to her, so she never received it. Since then, it has been the only BAFTA Award she has been nominated for.

1 Jennifer Hudson Sang On A Disney Cruise Ship

Before auditioning for American Idol, Hudson worked as a singer on a Disney cruise ship. Hudson worked on the Disney Wonder alongside a longtime Disney cast member Ed Whitlow, who told AllEars.net that "When she sang 'The Circle of Life,' it literally stopped the show. I told her that if she wanted to advance her career, she had to get on television." Later on in her career, Hudson performed at the christening ceremony for the Disney Dream cruise ship, which most definitely felt like a full-circle moment for her. She also had the honor of being named the Disney Dream's Godmother, alongside Mickey Mouse and former Disney CEO, Bob Iger.

Next: Nine Long Forgotten 'American Idol' Stars