Jennifer Holliday

Jennifer Yvette Holliday, born October 19, 1960, in Houston, Texas, is an American singer and actress whose career spans Broadway, recording, television, and gospel performance.

Holliday's stage career began in 1979 when, at age 18, she landed her first major Broadway role in Your Arms Too Short to Box with God on the same day she auditioned for the production. Her work in that musical earned her a Drama Desk Award nomination in 1981. At 21, she originated the role of Effie Melody White in Dreamgirls, which opened on December 20, 1981, and with which she remained for nearly four years. The role brought her widespread recognition, particularly for her performance of the Act I closing number, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." That performance resulted in a sweep of major honors in 1982: the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, and the Theatre World Award. A recorded version of the song also earned her a Grammy Award in 1983.

Beyond Dreamgirls, Holliday's Broadway credits include Angela Lansbury — A Celebration, The Color Purple, and Grease. In 1985, she performed in the touring company of Sing, Mahalia, Sing, and in 1998 she was featured on the album My Favorite Broadway Ladies as one of "The Queens of Broadway." She returned to the role of Effie White at the St. Louis Muny in a production of Dreamgirls running from July 16 to July 22, 2012, and has stated she does not intend to reprise the role again. Her Broadway activity extended through 2015.

The 1982 pop release of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart and number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, establishing Holliday as a recording artist beyond the stage. Her follow-up single, "I Am Love," became a hit in 1983. Subsequent R&B charting singles included "Hard Time For Lovers" and "No Frills Love" in 1985, "I'm On Your Side" in 1991, and "A Woman's Got the Power," which peaked at number one when it re-charted in 2000 after initially reaching number seven in summer 1999. In 1985, she was a featured vocalist on Foreigner's number one single "I Want to Know What Love Is." A dance remix of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" reached number six on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 2001.

On October 30, 1986, Holliday appeared in a Ken Ehrlich-produced gospel session hosted by Paul Simon and televised as part of the Cinemax Sessions series. The program also featured Luther Vandross, The Oak Ridge Boys, Andrae Crouch, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, and the Mighty Clouds of Joy. Holliday opened the show with "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" and later collaborated with Simon and Vandross on "Still Waters Run Deep" and an Aretha Franklin arrangement of "Bridge Over Troubled Water." In 1995, she released the gospel album On & On, and in April 2011 she released a Christian album titled Goodness and Mercy on her own Euphonic Records label, produced in cooperation with the Reverend Raphael G. Warnock, who was later elected United States Senator from Georgia.

During the 1990s, Holliday discussed publicly her health struggles with depression and underwent gastric bypass surgery following initial weight loss achieved through diet. She released the LP and video I'm On Your Side during this period, with the video recorded live.

Holliday has made numerous television appearances alongside her stage and recording work. She held a recurring guest star role on Ally McBeal, playing choir director Lisa Knowles across approximately six episodes. She also appeared on Touched by an Angel and Hang Time. On June 26, 2007, she made a surprise appearance at the BET Awards, performing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" in a duet with Jennifer Hudson, who had played Effie White in the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls. The two performed together again at a Hudson concert on April 16, 2009, a recording of which accumulated more than 1.3 million YouTube views as of July 2021. On May 23, 2012, Holliday performed the song alongside American Idol Season 11 finalist Jessica Sanchez during that season's finale. On July 30, 2020, she sang "Only What You Do for Christ Will Last" and "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at the funeral of civil rights congressman John Lewis at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. In 2022, Holliday competed in season seven of The Masked Singer as "Miss Teddy" of Team Cuddly, and was unmasked on April 13 alongside Duane Chapman.