Jennifer
Although the tragedies were a real test of her faith, Hudson never wavered as she remembered a valuable bit of guidance her mother provided.
“There would be no point in faith if it wasn’t tested, the Oscar winner told The Guardian. “My mother always told me no matter how negative your life seems to be, you must always look for a positive.”
Hudson’s comments come as she spoke about her mother, Darnell Donerson. According to reports, the 57-year-old matriarch, along with Hudson’s 29-year-old brother Jason were found shot to death inside their family home in Chicago in October 2008. Julian King, the son of Hudson’s sister Julia, was reported missing after the shootings. His body was body was found in a parked car on the other side of Chicago three days later.
Justice would later come with the arrest of Julia Hudson’s estranged husband, William Balfour, who was charged with the three murders. When Balfour went to trial in 2012, Jennifer and Julia Hudson attended the proceedings. Balfour received three consecutive life sentences for the killings.
“In many ways the trial was the most dreadful part of it all. But again I know my mother would not have wanted us to miss a beat, so we were there every day,” Jennifer Hudson said while admitting that faith helped her through the shootings and Balfour’s trial.
“I have definitely seen the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows,” stated the 32-year-old entertainer. “You don’t know how strong you are until you are placed in that kind of moment.”
Since the tragedies, Hudson has seen her professional and personal lives change with an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her work in “Dreamgirls” was well as love in the form of the man who became her husband, David Otunga. Hudson, a mother of one, also found herself as a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers.
“It feels like another Jennifer life,” she said. “I don’t look the same and so many things have changed. I sometimes think the only constant is my voice.”
Musically, Hudson is gearing up for the release of her third album, “JHUD.” The offering, which hits stores in September, strikes a personal nerve for the singer, who wrote a song in memory of her mother.
“My momma taught me everything I know,” reads Hudson’s lyrics, “and I will take it everywhere I go, if you think you’ve seen it all, just keep on living, live long.”