Dreamgirls, 3d Generation

I never saw the Broadway production of Dreamgirls that starred Jennifer Holliday in the role of Effie White but sure am impressed by Jennifer Hudson's performance in the same role. This character is based on Florence Ballard the original member who was ousted from the group for unprofessional behavior. I read a review saying that Jennifer Hudson was born only 3 months before the Broadway Production began and thought I'd take a look to see what kinds of relationships if any I could find between the 3 singer/actresses and the dates of both the Broadway Show and the Movie.

First of all, there's Florence Ballard's chart.
b. June 30, 1943 Rosetta, Mississippi

Ballard was fired after the opening of the group's first act in Las Vegas on June 28, 1967. That would have been one Hell of a Solar Return. She had a wide conjunction of Jupiter in Cancer to Pluto in Leo and t.Jupiter was conjunct Pluto to the degree at that point. (Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions play an important part in both Hudson and Holliday's charts with the release of the two shows). There were also tough transits to her Nodes, Venus, Chiron from Neptune. That can easily equal drinking too much and victimization. Although her behavior no doubt brought on her struggles, she really was betrayed by her manager and group. Ballard had a drinking problem and dropped into poverty, passing away at the early age of 32 on Feb. 22, 1976.

Without birth time, as usual, I can't do full readings for any of these women. But, not including Ascendant and exact Moon placement, Ballard's chart shows many trines and sextiles and only one square between Mars and Jupiter. This shows that she wouldn't have had a tough personality, maybe her system was not "innoculated" in order to handle difficult challenges in life. She has a Cancer Sun and a Gemini Moon (probably) so she could have been a bit emotional and mercurial, maybe unable to naturally gain enough distance from what happens to her in life. The Mars-Jupiter square gains emphasis because of its Solo Performance in her chart. This can be an athlete's aspect, she would have pushed herself really hard, her expectations would have been unrealistic, giving her an inability to pace herself so exposing herself to burn-out. Her Sun in this chart is unaspected which is great for a performer but also means that she may have had deep insecurities about needing to shine in the world. Her North Node was in Leo conjunct Venus and 12 degrees away from Pluto so she had a strong desire for Fame, definitely wanted to be in the spotlight. When the Broadway version of Dreamgirls came out her Progressed Sun was conjunct this North Node and her Chart had just gone through a Nodal Return. That's the intensity of Leo and Pluto's drive. I've heard that Pluto, lord of the Underworld, can bring Fame from beyond the grave.

Jennifer Holliday was born October 19, 1960 in Riverside, Texas. No birth time but she appears to have had both Sun and Moon in Libra. Her chart is a very strong Bowl shape bounded by an exact opposition between Mars in Cancer and Saturn in Capricorn. Her North Node in Virgo, Neptune, Pluto all aspect this opposition. The Double Libra and Bowl shape are perfect castings for the character of Effie who is so vulnerable to the relationships in her life. Holliday achieved Superstar Fame when the show opened on December 9, 1981. Both Jupiter and Pluto were conjunct her Sun at this time Her progressed Sun was conjunct her Mercury (ruler of NN and also of voice), and she was going through two Venus aspects: p.Venus c. t. Neptune and t. Uranus on n. Venus. Venus rules the singing voice.

Jennifer Hudson was born September 12, 1981 Chicago, IL. Hudson's Moon is either in Aquarius or in Pisces. She has Sun in Virgo squaring Neptune natally. Neptune rules Movies, Charisma so, in combination with the Sun that's great for an artist of any kind but especially a Movie actress. Jupiter and Pluto were also in conjunction so you sort of get the sense that she was being "vibed" out in some way to create something sensational with her life. Like the first Jennifer (Holliday) Libra is strong in her chart, she has 5 planets there. Since she was born three months before the Broadway show I checked to see if anything significant was happening to her chart at that time and repeated when the Movie came out. Well, both Theater and Movie productions came out in December so the Sun-Neptune square was set into motion. When the Broadway show came out, transiting Sun was conjunct her natal Neptune and squaring her natal Sun. Pluto has just passed over her Neptune and Jupiter will pass over it this year. This seems to be repeating the conjunction of the two planets on her Libra planets that occurred when the Broadway Production was released. She shares a Leo North Node with Florence Ballard. Hers is conjunct Mars and is squared by Venus.