Age: 44
female
Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Hudson rose to fame in 2004 as a finalist on the third season of American Idol, placing seventh. She made her film debut as Effie White in the musical Dreamgirls (2006), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the youngest African-American to win in a competitive acting category. After signing to Arista Records, Hudson released her self-titled debut studio album in 2008, which was certified Gold in the US and the UK, and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. Hudson's subsequent studio albums, I Remember Me (2011) and JHUD (2014), both charted within the top ten of the Billboard 200, with the former also being certified Gold in the US. Meanwhile, her other acting roles include the films Sex and the City (2008), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Winnie Mandela (2011), Black Nativity (2013), Sing (2016), Cats (2019) and Respect (2021), the television shows Smash (2012), Empire (2015) and Confirmation (2016), and her Broadway debut with the musical The Color Purple. Hudson also contributed as a coach on the UK and the US version of The Voice from 2017 up to 2019, becoming the first female coach to win the former.
The story of The Lion Queen takes place in an African queendom called the Pride Lands, where a lioness rules over the other animals as queen. At the beginning of the film, Ramla, a mandrill shaman, anoints Sithembile, the newborn cub of Queen Mudiwa and King Sango, and presents her to a gathering of animals at Pride Rock. Meanwhile, Mudiwa's younger sister, Saalinge, who decided not to be at the ceremony, is annoyed that she is no longer the heir to the throne. Mudiwa confronts Saalinge about not attending the ceremony and says to not turn her back on her when she tries to leave. When Saalinge says Mudiwa should not turn her back on her and Mudiwa asks her if it is a challenge, Saalinge replies that she would not dream of it as she lacks brute strength. After Saalinge leaves, Mudiwa wonders what to do with her. A few years later, Mudiwa shows a young Sithembile the Pride Lands and explains to her the responsibilities of queenship and the "circle of life", which connects all living things.
