Recording Artist who was a finalist on the third season of American Idol. She then transitioned into acting and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Effie White in the 2006 film Dreamgirls.
She dropped out of Langston University due to homesickness and dislike of the weather and instead enrolled in Kennedy-King College.
Her song "Love You I Do" won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture in 2008.
She was in a relationship with maintenance Engineer James Peyton from 1999 until 2007. She began dating WWE Wrestler David Otunga in 2008 and they had a son named David Daniel Otunga Jr. in 2009. The couple later separated in 2017.
She starred in the 2006 film, Dreamgirls, with Beyonce, during which she sang "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going."
