Jennifer Hudson has suffered a tragedy hard to imagine for most of us. Her mother and brother were found dead in their home in Chicago, having been shot to death. Unfortunately, her 7-year-old nephew was nowhere to be found. Everyone hoped his mother had fled to safety with him, but the boy’s parents were just as desperate to find him as everyone else. He was found days later, in the back of an SUV. The cause of death established by the coroners was multiple gunshot wounds.

The actress organized a public service, where people could pay homage to the three victims, but also a private funeral. The funeral was handled by the Hudson Funeral Home, run by members of Jennifer Hudson’s extended family. Attendance to the private funeral was conditioned by an invitation.

Before the tragedy occurred, Jennifer Hudson was involved in Gap’s holiday ad campaign. Upon hearing about the unfortunate events, Gap officials contacted the star’s management team to enquire as to whether she wanted to quit the campaign. Hudson wanted to stay on, and the campaign went on as scheduled. Her smiling pictures taken in July will feature in Gap’s holiday ads.

Jennifer Hudson is not the only celebrity who will brighten your day once winter hits. The billboards, which were unveiled this Thursday, also feature the happy faces of stars such as Mary-Louise Parker, Jason Bateman, Rainn Wilson, Ashanti and Seth Myers.

Gap is very pleased with the pictures they have of Jennifer Hudson and are also happy that the actress and singer is feeling well enough to go through with the ad campaign. Hudson herself thanked her supporters in a post on MySpace, saying that both she and her sister find comfort in the public’s support.