Which singer played Effie White opposite Beyoncé in the film Dreamgirls?

Jennifer Hudson played Effie White opposite Beyoncé in the film Dreamgirls.

Dreamgirls, released in 2006, was adapted from the Broadway musical and directed by Bill Condon. Hudson portrayed Effie White, a gifted singer whose place in a successful girl group is threatened as its manager pursues a more commercially polished sound. Beyoncé played Deena Jones, the group member who becomes its new lead singer.

Hudson’s performance was a major breakthrough. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her one of the few performers to receive an Oscar for a film debut. She also won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for the role. Her performance of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” became one of the film’s defining moments.

The characters and group in Dreamgirls are fictional. Viewers sometimes map them directly onto specific Motown figures, but the film combines inspirations rather than functioning as a literal biography of one group.