‘American Idol’ Winners: Where Are They Now?

Barrino released her Grammy-nominated debut album, Free yourselfin 2004 after she won season 3. She later earned 12 Grammy nominations and one Grammy win for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 2011. Barrino has recorded a total of seven studio albums, including her 2019 album, Sketchbook.

The singer appeared on Broadway when she starred in the musicals The color purple in 2007 and After midnight in 2013. Barrino also opened up about her personal life in her memoir, Fantasia: Life is not a fairy talewhich was made into a Lifetime movie in 2006. In 2010, Barrino starred in her VH1 reality series, Fantasy for real, for two seasons. Later that year, she suffered an aspirin overdose that she later admitted was a suicide attempt.

Barrino married businessman Kendal Taylor in 2015. In May 2021, the couple welcomed their first child together, daughter Keziah. Barrino is also the mother of daughter Zion and son Dallas from previous relationships.

Barrino reprized her role as Celie in the 2023 film adaptation The color purple. During a December 2023 interview with The New York Timesshe opened up about the challenges of returning to the emotional subject.

“There were times when I felt like I wasn’t going to make it. I can not do it. I would cry when I sit down. I would cry when I left the set,” she said. “I would talk to God and tell him, ‘You have to make sense of this.’ Make it meaningful. Something must come from this.’ It was so hard.”

Shortly before the interview, Barrino learned that she had been nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for the film.

“That was my prayer. Like, Lord, let not my labor be in vain, meaning not for prizes, but mean, show these girls, you are beautiful,” she told the outlet. “You were put on this earth for a reason. You’re brilliant. You are smart. You are seen. And you can fall, but you can also get up again.’