Jennifer Hudson Pays Tribute to Her Late Grandma on What Would Have Been Her 95th Birthday

Jennifer Hudson recently celebrated the birthday of the woman whom she inherited her powerful voice from, her grandmother Kate Hudson.

Jennifer Hudson is, without a doubt, a woman with a beautiful voice, who can bring thousands up their seats to applaud.

The genes behind her talent are from her late grandmother Julia Kate Hudson, who would have celebrated her 95th birthday recently.

Despite the former couple’s split in 2017, they have been co-parenting their son with a joint custody agreement.

HUDSON PENS A TRIBUTE

The “American Idol” star penned a tribute to her grandmother on Instagram, together with an old photograph.

“She is who it is said that I got my voice from,” Hudson wrote. “Because of you, I sing today and it is your prayers, we live off today.”

Julia was a singer at the Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church, the same place her granddaughter began developing her musical talent.

She is also someone who serves as Hudson’s “biggest inspiration,” which she noted when she received an Oscar Award. Sadly, Julia passed away in 1998.

LOSING HER MOTHER, BROTHER, AND NEPHEW

Julia wasn’t the only family member the “If This Isn’t Love” artist lost. In 2008, her mother, brother, and seven-year-old nephew were murdered by Hudson’s brother-in-law, William Balfour.

It was a devastating and painful reality to cope with, but her memories with her family motivated her to become successful.

“Thank God. I think I attribute that first to God, next [to the fact that] when you experience trauma, it comes and goes,” she said. But it’s a matter of how you deal with it.”

Among the things that helped through her grief was welcoming her son, David Jr., whom she shares with her ex-fiance David Otunga.

ALL GROWN UP

David Jr. is now all grown up and looking more like his parents each day. Despite the former couple’s split in 2017, they have been co-parenting their son with a joint custody agreement.

However, it appears that the ten-year-old son of the star is living with Otunga amid the quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The father-son-duo often appears on social media as Otunga posts moments he spends bonding with his mini-me.