Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer: (releasing the following statement after setting up 'The Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims') The specific purpose of the foundation is to care for the needs of families who have lost relatives to a violent crime. This encompasses their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter as well as grief counselling.

Jennifer: (on the likeness she has with her Sex and the City character) I make clothes and knit scarves. But I really love purses! I'm a purse girl, not a shoe girl. I remember, I had a scene where you didn't see my feet. So I took my shoes off. But the director, Michael Patrick King, was like, 'Put those heels back on. You're not fully in character unless you're in heels.' He was serious. I had to put my heels back on."

Jennifer: (on what she has in her private life that gives her security) My faith in God is everything at this point. Also, my family and friends that I've had around me pretty much my whole life and my boyfriend, we've been together for eight years. I try to keep people around me who've been around me, who've seen me struggle. They know how dedicated I am and how hard I've worked. They know me - not the Jennifer from American Idol and Dreamgirls, but the real Jennifer.

Jennifer (on her grandmother): She was my biggest inspiration for everything, because she was a singer and she had the passion for it, but she never had the chance and that was the thing that pushed me forward to continue.

Jennifer: (on winning the 2007 Golden Globe award for 'Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture) Oh, my God. Thank you so much. Wow. I have always dreamed but never, ever this big. This goes far beyond anything I could ever have imagined.

Jennifer: I was brought up singing gospel, and I really enjoy getting the church up on their feet, their hips swaying, their hands clapping, it's a great feeling to evoke that energy for the Lord.

Jennifer: People are all the time asking me if I hated Simon for mentioning my weight, and I really do not. I am proud of who I am, that is why I auditioned for the show, because I thought that I had something to bring to the table. Now, as for my favorite...that would be Randy, of course, he took a chance on me.

Jennifer: I can't say that I wasn't shocked when I was voted off of American Idol, because I was. I had just sort of settled in to the pressure, and was feeling confident, when I got the wind knocked out of me. I knew though, that my career would just be beginning at that point, I had been seen.

Jennifer: Working with the extraordinary cast of Dreamgirls was humbling and exciting all in one. I pushed myself with every scene, to stay caught up with the talent I was portraying, as well as the talent I was working alongside.