Latest news with #NaomiJudd
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Wynonna Judd turns 61: a look back
Country music star and author Wynonna Judd is best known for her time as a member of The Judds with her mother Naomi Judd and for hit songs "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)," "Why Not Me," and "Mama He's Crazy." She turns 61 on Friday. Here's a look back at her career through the years.
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Ashley Judd reveals vulnerable account of last moments with mother Naomi
Ashley Judd has delivered her most complete account yet of the heart-wrenching moments during which she personally discovered her mother's suicide in 2022 – and sought to ensure her parent let go of 'her guilt and her shame' over what she had done at the conclusion of a long struggle with depression. 'I … told her how much I loved her, and it's OK to go,' the actor said on The Judd Family: Truth Be Told. The documentary miniseries – having aired on Lifetime over Mother's Day weekend and now available on the Philo streaming service – in part zoomed in on Grammy-winning country singer Naomi Judd's final day, which began with a text message from her to Ashley reading: 'pls help.' As Ashley recounted on the docuseries, she subsequently arrived at her mother's home near Nashville and found 76-year-old Naomi 'uncomfortable in her body' – pacing around her kitchen while saying that she 'didn't want to be here any more'. The Double Jeopardy and Kiss the Girls star recalled: 'I put my hand on her leg and she patted me and she slowly softened and came back to herself and calmed down and shared a couple of things I would say are private, between us, about why she chose to continue to live' in spite of her lengthy history of anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. 'One of the things she said was me, and I said: 'You don't have to worry about me, Mom. I'm OK. I'm OK.' And she really clocked that in a really deep way.' Naomi then went upstairs. Ashley said she later followed to check on her mother and 'saw that she had harmed herself'. 'I spent the next whatever it was – half-hour – just holding my mother and talking to her,' Ashley said on the program. 'And the first thing I said to her was: 'It's OK, I've seen how much you've been suffering.' 'And we just breathed together, and I talked to her and told her how much I loved her, and it's OK to go.' Ashley continued: 'When she died, my earnest wish was to make sure that she was relieved and absolved of her guilt and her shame. I was holding her hand. I was kissing her. She was so soft. She smelled so pretty. 'It was like this final consummation of the love in the relationship that we had transformed. What an honor, to be born in this human life, to be chosen by her. I got to hold space – I got to bookend. And I'm just so glad I was there.' Ashley Judd spoke to the Guardian in early 2023 about undergoing a physically and mentally taxing type of psychotherapy known as EMDR – which involves patients moving their eyes in a specific way while they process traumatic memories – as she grappled with the aftermath of her mother's death. She said her treatment was made more complicated than it otherwise could have been by the fact that a tabloid published graphic photographs depicting the scene of Naomi's death. The outlet also ran a photo of a Post-it note at the scene suggesting that Naomi's other daughter – fellow country singer Wynonna, Ashley's sister – would not be allowed at the funeral, though she ultimately did attend. Those pieces violated standards on how to safely and responsibly report on deaths like that of Naomi, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention said at the time. Nonetheless, the tabloid ran that material after outlets obtained it through public records requests issued to the first responders who were called out to the site of Naomi's death. Naomi Judd's daughters and her widower, the former Elvis Presley-backing vocalist Larry Strickland, later pushed for Tennessee's state legislature to limit what authorities should have to release in non-criminal deaths. The restrictions they proposed were relatively similar to ones in place in California and Florida, which are generally considered to be public records-friendly. A statement on Tuesday from Judd family representatives said that effort 'effectively died' after the legislature's attention became occupied by a shooting that killed three nine-year-old children and three adults at Nashville's Covenant school in March 2023. The attacker who carried out the slayings at the school was killed by police, too. Born Diana Ellen Judd in Ashland, Kentucky, Naomi Judd was working as a nurse before she and Wynonna began to sing together. Their blending of acoustic music, bluegrass and blues earned them a devoted following. And it also propelled the duo to 14 No 1 hits and five Grammy wins over nearly three decades performing. Unfortunately for her, in 1991, at the peak of her and Wynonna's popularity, Naomi Judd was diagnosed with hepatitis. She said she was forced to stop performing, and her mental state deteriorated significantly before dying one day away from being inducted alongside Wynonna into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. 'Our matriarch was dogged by an unfair foe,' the Judd family had previously said in a statement. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, chat on or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Wynonna Judd reveals 'devastated' reaction when mother Naomi confessed who her real dad was
Wynonna Judd has revealed her 'devastated' and 'angry' reaction when her mother Naomi told her who her real father was. Naomi and Wynonna shot to fame as a singing double-act, The Judds, but shared a complicated personal relationship through their stormy lives until Naomi's shocking gunshot suicide in 2022 at the age of 76. Now Wynonna, 60, is shedding light on the dark corners of their equation in the new Lifetime docuseries The Judd Family: Truth Be Told. She recalled that for the first three decades of her life, she believed her real father was Naomi's first husband Michael Ciminella, who married Naomi when she was 17 years old and pregnant with Wynonna. Only when Wynonna was 30 years old and had been famous for over a decade did Naomi finally tell her the truth - her father was another man called Charlie Jordan. Charlie and Wynonna never met face to face before he died in 2000 at the age of just 56, leaving behind a trailer filled with posters of The Judds, via TooFab. The initial story that Naomi told Wynonna about Charlie was: 'I was 16 and I was a virgin, I was home alone and [Charlie] came over and took advantage of me.' However that version of events ultimately unraveled as Wynonna began to pull harder at the threads, uncovering the true history of her parentage. Apparently Naomi was in love with Charlie but there 'was all this pressure and everybody kinda freaked out, and he went off to join the Army,' Wynonna said. 'Look, I understand it, but I was really angry with her about it. I was so devastated that I thought there was a part of me that's missing. The glass is half empty,' she shared. 'Learning about my birth father, I feel more like him than I do my mother in certain areas. And I think Mom was terrified of that half of me because she couldn't control it. She couldn't bring it in and train it. That's why Mom was very hard on me.' With Charlie away in the military, Naomi, 17 and pregnant with his baby, went off and married another man Michael Ciminella. Michael and Naomi began trying to raise Wynonna and then also welcomed a biological daughter of their own together, film actress Ashley Judd. However there was always a distance between Michael and Wynonna, who has now said: 'I knew that Michael didn't like me and Mom didn't really love him.' Naomi and Wynonna became music stars when the latter was just 18 and amassed a huge fanbase - one that included Charlie, who watched quietly from afar. 'My understanding is that Charlie knew about me and that he always felt like he couldn't do anything about it. I guess he didn't feel he was worthy or whatever, like: "Wynonna's got this life and I can't just show up in it,"' said Wynonna. 'And for a while, I wasn't ready to go meet him. What if he's a jerk? What if we don't make a connection?. What if, what if, what if? Fear, fear, fear. But when I finally decided to, it was too late,' the Why Not Me? songstress confessed. Charlie died in 2000 aged 56 with Judds posters all over his trailer, a heartrending final tribute to the woman he left behind and the daughter he never knew. 'I didn't go to his funeral because I felt it would be "too much" for his family,' Wynonna explained in the new docuseries.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Does Ashley Judd Have Any Kids? Inside the Actress' Choice on Children and Her Thoughts on Motherhood
Ashley Judd, one of late country music singer Naomi Judd's two daughters, has discussed her thoughts on having children and revealed if having a family was in her life plan during her road to fame. Life & Style rounds up what she has shared about welcoming kids of her own. The actress and activist does not have any kids. In her 2011 memoir, All That Is Bitter and Sweet, she explained that her decision not to become a mother is 'a big part of who' she is. 'I do not need to go making 'my own' babies when there are so many orphaned or abandoned children who need love, attention, time and care. I have felt this way since I was at least 18,' Ashley shared. 'I figured it was selfish for us to pour our resources into making our 'own' babies when those very resources and energy could not only help children already here.' She also addressed the topic in an interview years prior and echoed the same sentiments. 'It's unconscionable to breed with the number of children who are starving to death in impoverished countries,' the Lazareth actress told the Sunday Mail in 2006. Ashley is the proud godmother to ex-husband Dario Franchitti's daughter Sofia shared with second wife Eleanor Robb, whom he married in 2014. The A Dog's Way Home star and former race car driver divorced in 2013 after 11 years of marriage. Ashley bravely spoke out about the abortion she had after becoming pregnant from a sexual assault. 'What I like to talk about is my personal experience with abortion because as everyone knows — and I'm very open about it — I'm a three-time rape survivor,' she said while addressing an audience during the 2019 Women in the World Summit. 'One of the times I was raped there was conception, and I'm very thankful I was able to access safe and legal abortion because that rapist, who is a Kentuckian, as am I, and resides in Tennessee, has paternity rights in Kentucky,' the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) shared at the time. Ashley stated that she would have been required to 'coparent with a rapist' under Kentucky laws. 'So having safe access to abortion was personally important to me, and as I said earlier, you know, democracy starts with the skin,' she explained. Ashley is the daughter of late country legend Naomi Judd, who is also mom to superstar Wynonna Judd. In the new docuseries The Judd Family: Truth Be Told on Lifetime, Ashley opened up about the last conversation she had with Naomi prior to her tragic death by suicide at age 76 in April 2022. After rushing over to her mother's house on that fateful day, she said they had a heart-to-heart about her hardships and personal struggles. 'And then I spent the next whatever it was — half hour — just holding my mother and talking to her, and the first thing I said to her was, 'It's OK, I've seen how much you've been suffering,'' Ashley said. 'We just breathed together and I talked to her and told her how much I loved her, and it's OK to go.' While speaking about her mother's final moments, she shared, 'It was like this final consummation of the love in the relationship that we had transformed.' 'What an honor, to be born into this human life, to be chosen by her. I got to hold space, I got to bookend. And I'm just so glad I was there,' Ashley said. If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Naomi Judd's widower confirms late singer shot a gun at him after learning about his his infidelity
Editor's note: This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Larry Strickland, Naomi Judd's widower, confirmed the late singer once shot a gun at him after learning about his infidelity. In the Lifetime docuseries "The Judd Family: Truth Be Told," the 79-year-old – who was married to Judd for 33 years before her death in 2022 – briefly opened up about the incident. In a voiceover from her 1993 memoir, "Love Can Build a Bridge," Judd could be heard saying that she and Strickland were "wildly, madly, passionately in love," despite her husband rarely being home. At the time, Judd detailed the moment she learned about her husband's cheating after a woman continued to call their home and express her love for Strickland. A heartbroken Judd recalled tearing up photos of the pair and throwing Strickland's clothes and belongings out. At one point during the docuseries, Strickland rewatched a scene from the TV movie "Love Can Build a Bridge" in which Kathleen York, who played Naomi, shoots Bruce Greenwood, who played Strickland, after discovering his infidelities. "Well, it really happened," Strickland admitted. "That's all I can say. That's all I'm going to say. It happened." Judd and Strickland married in May 1989. The Judds member died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 30, 2022, one day before she was set to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. "I was really scared to death about her flying alone all the way from Vienna back to Nashville 'cause I knew how fragile she was," Strickland said of the days leading up to her death during CMT's "Naomi Judd: A River of Time" honoring Naomi shortly after her death. Naomi's daughter, actress Ashley Judd, appeared on "Good Morning America" at the time to discuss her mother's mental health and her manner of death. "She used a weapon… my mother used a firearm," Ashley said during the appearance. "So that's the piece of information that we are very uncomfortable sharing, but understand that we're in a position that if we don't say it someone else is going to." Ashley also shared details from Naomi's final day. "It was a mixed day," the actress explained. "I visit with my mom and pop every day when I'm home in Tennessee, so I was at the house visiting as I am every day. Mom said to me, 'Will you stay with me?' and I said, 'Of course I will.'… I went upstairs to let her know that her good friend was there and I discovered her. I have both grief and trauma from discovering her." Elsewhere in the documentary, Ashley and sister Wynonna Judd admitted that they had a complicated relationship with their late mother, who also dealt with her own trauma on her road to success. The sisters opened up in the first three episodes about growing up with a young mom, the abuse they experienced from one of their mother's exes when they were children, leaving Los Angeles behind to move home to Kentucky, and how Wynonna and Naomi found and dealt with superstardom in country music. "I've loved her more than I've loved myself, but Mother was both in love with me and terrified of me because I represented what she didn't know and couldn't control," Wynonna said at the beginning of the docuseries. Wynonna said she believes her mother's suicide was partly to blame on "generational trauma" her mother experienced. "One of the reasons I have decided that Mom left this world is because of trauma, generational trauma, family stuff that never got healed or fixed," Wynonna said in the first episode of the show. Ashley added that their mother lived with a "constellation of her sufferings" that spiraled into severe depression before her death. Strickland also admitted in the docuseries he was "jealous as crap" of Naomi's success early on in her career. Naomi wrote in her memoir that after she found out that their song "Mama He's Crazy" was No. 1, Strickland stood up and walked out the door. "I was jealous as crap of her, you know," he admitted, "so we just kind of fell apart a little bit." Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson contributed to this post.
