NEW YORK -- Jennifer Hudson was hooked by her homework.

"I watched every single one of them, and I still carry the DVDs around. I mean, .....it's addictive," the Academy Award winner said of the 94 episodes of HBO's "Sex and the City." Not a big TV watcher, she wasn't a fan until faced with the prospect of joining the movie as Louise, a 25-year-old from St. Louis hired as Carrie Bradshaw's assistant.

"At first, I started off just researching my part and then before I knew it, I was just watching it for pleasure. Like, what happened next? And I'm calling my sister, because she's a huge fan."

In fact, Hudson now thinks of herself as a Charlotte -- "wholesome, traditional" -- with a touch of Miranda, "very independent and strong."

Hudson, 26, didn't want to do another role like Effie White in "Dreamgirls," which won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2007. "Effie's out there, huge in every way," while Louise is "subtle, sweet and a traditional girl," who reminds Hudson of herself.

Louise loves fashion, and so does Hudson, who owns enough shoes for a store or Carrie's dream closet. Louise loves purses and so does Hudson, whose collection numbers 14 and is topped by three favorites: A Jimmy Choo bag; a Valentino presented to her by the designer himself and featuring her initials on the side; and a YSL, fashion shorthand for Yves Saint Laurent.

Dressed this day in a green tank top with visible lacy bra, skin-hugging black pants and de rigueur black belt, Hudson was the newcomer making the rounds of a swanky, sky-high hotel with stunning views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.

The others -- Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Chris Noth and Michael Patrick King -- might have various prizes to their names, but she was the only one with "American Idol" on her resume and a little thing called Oscar to her credit.

As for the glittery night she joined fellow actors Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren and Alan Arkin in Hollywood's most exclusive winners' circle, Hudson said, "I don't party much, so I just went back to my room and sat with the Oscar and looked at it, like, is it really mine? I remember after I won it, I asked director Bill Condon, 'Can they take it back?' "

No, he assured her, no one would be repossessing it.

"Even to this day, I'm an Academy Award winner?" she said, with disbelief and charming modesty. It really hit home this year, when she returned to the Kodak Theatre as a presenter and joined fellow winners and nominees and Academy members.

She looked around and thought, "I'm one of them. That doesn't even make sense to me."

The 8-pound golden man gets the "special spot" on the mantel at her house. "So as soon as you walk in the door, there's the Oscar sitting on this silver mantel that lights up, and it just says Haaa!"

Still, she was attracted to "SATC" because the role wasn't too big and didn't involve any singing. Besides, she found the show "relatable," once she started racing through the seasons.

"It's things that we go through every day that we don't necessarily talk to each other about, but they do and it's like, oh wow, they're going through this, they're going through that, they did this, I was in that same situation but I didn't know who to talk to."

Hudson is still enough of a newbie -- and comically candid -- celebrity that she's thrilled by the perks of stardom. The best one? "When they close down the store so you can go in and go shopping."

Or, as during a recent visit to New Orleans, Saks reopened so she could shop.

"It's just me in the middle of the store, which is a little weird. Then, when I leave and go places, I come home with a whole lot more than what I left with." In fact, she joked that she hoped to get the luscious Louis Vuitton bag that factors into the movie.

In the meantime, she is considering lending her name to a fashion line, as Sarah Jessica Parker has done.

"That's next on my list, creating that for the average size woman. Everyone ain't Sarah's size, OK? We have average-size people walking around here and we need to reflect that."

Hudson, whose first album is due in September and who has a single called "Spotlight" dropping June 10, may not have won "American Idol" but it proved invaluable to her career.

"To me, 'Idol' is like boot camp of the industry. ... Any time I get just out-of-my-mind nervous and everything, I just say, if I can get through 'Idol,' I can get through anything."