Jennifer Hudson rarely talks about the unfathomable tragedy that struck her family in 2008, but the award-winning actress and singer opens up about it in the November issue of Glamour magazine.
The 34-year-old is making her broadway debut as Shug Avery in an all-new rendition of “The Color Purple,” but she’s also starring in Spike Lee‘s forthcoming film, Chiraq, a black comedy about the devastating gun violence in her hometown of Chicago.
In the film, Jen plays a woman whose daughter is killed by a stray bullet while she’s walking her to school. But, there was one scene in particular that hit very close to home.
There’s a scene where we’re all holding up boards with [photos of] our slain children on them. I turned around, and it’s a sea of real women [as extras] holding pictures of children they actually lost. I’m a character holding a picture of a little girl, but in real life I have the same story.
Jennifer is referring to the 2008 murder of her mother, her brother, and her nephew.
