What Happened to Jennifer Hudsons Family?

May 2024 · 4 minute read

Jennifer Hudson has been within the leisure trade for almost 20 years, but some fanatics have no idea what happened to her family.

Elizabeth Randolph - Author

In 2003, Jennifer Hudson rose to reputation after entering the popular singing pageant American Idol. Although Fantasia Barrino took house the coveted title that season, Jennifer’s career was once just getting began.

Following her time on Idol, Jennifer secured her first acting position as Effie White within the movie adaptation of Dreamgirls. While she worked at the display along Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy, Jennifer’s position catapulted her into A-list royalty.

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Following her time on American Idol, Jennifer secured her first appearing position as Effie White within the film adaptation of Dreamgirls. Working on the film alongside Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy, Jennifer’s role catapulted her into A-list royalty.

Dreamgirls earned the Chicago local an Oscar in 2007, which started Jennifer's adventure to changing into an EGOT winner. (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony). Since then, she’s parlayed her abilities into different acting roles and tune, or even introduced her daytime talk show in September 2022.

Unfortunately, Jennifer’s success hasn’t at all times been simple. The artist faced a significant family tragedy just as her profession exploded.

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What happened to Jennifer Hudson’s family?

Jennifer incessantly mentioned her family’s make stronger throughout her American Idol days and early reputation. In 2007, Jennifer and her mom, Darnell Donerson, attended the Oscars when Jennifer received Best Supporting Actress. The singer also had a detailed dating along with her brother, Jason Hudson, and her nephew, Julian King. Jennifer’s sister, Julia, gave birth to Julian in 2000.

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By 2008, Jennifer was once contemporary off her Oscars win and dealing on other films like the Sex and the City film and The Secret Life of Bees. However, in October of that year, Jennifer confronted some other life-altering second.

On Oct. 24, 2008, Jennifer’s family participants — Darnell, Jason, and Julian — have been murdered. Today reported they had been killed through gunshots and located lifeless within Darnell’s house. The murders stunned Jennifer’s fans and neighborhood, as her mother was once a pillar within the family’s church.

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Several weeks after the murders, regulation enforcement began investigating who was once at the back of the crime. Police in the end arrested the singer’s brother-in-law, William Balfour. Balfour, 27 on the time, allegedly took Julian from his room, stole Jason’s automotive, and shot his stepson a couple of instances.

In 2012, Jennifer publicly spoke about the murders for the first time on Oprah Winfrey’s Oprah’s Next Chapter. On the show, Jennifer and Julia mentioned protecting their loved ones’ legacies via their charity, the Julian D. King Gift Foundation. Jennifer also admitted that she forgave Balfour for what he did to her village.

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“For probably the most part, it's not his fault," Jennifer said of her ex-brother-in-law, adding, "It's what he was once taught, how he was introduced up.”

Jennifer explained that, in contrast to Balfour, her mom’s values saved her or her family from making the similar dangerous decisions he made.

“You by no means had an opportunity," she said of Balfour. "Had you had the love my mom gave us, or the background that some have, then you can've stood a chance."

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William Balfour believes his murder charges were a “conspiracy” against him.

Julia and Balfour married in 2006, and he was her son’s stepfather. When they separated in 2008, the split escalated their already volatile relationship. Before police charged Balfour for the murder, he allegedly told his friends that he planned on killing Julia and her family.

Following his arrest, Balfour faced a jury in a Chicago trial. Jennifer and Julia attended each case and were there when Cook County Judge Charles Patrick Burns charged him with three consecutive life sentences for the killings of Darnell, Jason, and Julian. Balfour also received 120 years for aggravated kidnapping and home invasion.

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Despite the lengthy sentence, some believed it wasn’t enough, and Judge Burns stated in court to Balfour: ​​"You have the center of an arctic night. Your soul is as barren as dark house."

Years after the trial, Balfour maintained his innocence and described the charges as a “conspiracy.” He also claimed to ABC News’ I-Team in 2016 that any one might be responsible for the murders, which is what he would inform Jennifer himself if he ever saw her again. However, Chicago police have not begun to reopen the case, and Balfour continues to be serving his prison sentence in Pontiac, Illinois.

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