Jennifer Holliday was born on October 19, 1960 in Houston, Texas, USA as Jennifer Yvette Holliday. She was previously married to Rev. Andre Woods and Billy Meadows.

She earned a Doctor of Music Degree from the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Won Broadway's 1982 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for "Dreamgirls." In 2001, she sang "America The Beautiful" on the first WWE pay-per-view to be held after the September 11th terrorist attacks. In the Broadway musical production of "Your Arms Too Short To Box With God", her performance earned her a 1981 Drama Desk nomination. Performed in the touring company of "Sing, Mahalia, Sing" in 1986, as the late, great Mahalia Jackson . "Dreamgirls" earned her not only a Tony, but Drama Desk and Theatre World Awards; she also won a Grammy Award for her recorded version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". In the 1990s, Holliday lost a substantial amount of weight and talked about her health battles with clinical depression. She is now a spokesperson on the subject. In an effort to avoid regaining the weight, Holliday had gastric bypass surgery. Portrayed the role of Effie Melody White in the original musical version of "Dreamgirls", giving one of the most triumphant singing performances ever committed to Broadway. Her raw, all-consuming vocal version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" made the Tony-winning performer a cult phenomenon. Made an appearance at the 6th annual United States Conference on AIDS at the Anaheim Hilton & Towers in Anaheim, California. [September 2002] She sang "This is the Moment" at the 2004 July 4th Boston Pops Concert for Independence Day. [July 2004]