Naomi Judd | |
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.jpg) Judd in 2012 | |
| Born | Diana Ellen Judd (1946-01-11)January 11, 1946 Ashland, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | April 30, 2022(2022-04-30) (aged 76) |
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| Years active |
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| Musical career | |
| Genres | Country |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | The Judds |
| Website | naomijudd |
Musical artist | |
Naomi Judd (bornDiana Ellen Judd; January 11, 1946 – April 30, 2022) was an Americancountry music singer and actress. In 1980, she and her daughterWynonna (born Christina Claire) formed the duo known asThe Judds, which became a successfulcountry music act, winning fiveGrammy Awards and nineCountry Music Association awards. The Judds ceased performing in 1991 after Naomi was diagnosed with hepatitis; while Wynonna continued to perform as a solo artist, she occasionally reunited with her mother for tours as The Judds. Naomi died by suicide in 2022, on the day before she and Wynonna were inducted into theCountry Music Hall of Fame.
Judd was born Diana Ellen Judd to Pauline Ruth "Polly" (née Oliver) and Charles Glen Judd on January 11, 1946, inAshland, Kentucky.[3][4] Her father owned a gas station[3] and her mother was a riverboat cook.[5] Her brother Brian died ofleukemia in 1965 at the age of 17;[6] Naomi Judd's first child, Christina Claire Ciminella (laterWynonna Judd), was born when Judd was 18.[7] Her first daughter was given the last name Ciminella after Michael Ciminella, the man who Judd quickly married after being abandoned by her boyfriend and Wynonna's biological father, Charles Jordan.[8] After the birth of her second daughter,Ashley (1968), who later became a film and stage actress, and the end of her marriage to Ciminella, Judd brought up both daughters as a single parent, first attendingnursing school at California'sCollege of Marin while living in nearbyLagunitas, California,[9] and later beginning a successful singing career with daughter Wynonna.[10] When she reverted to her maiden name following her divorce, she also took the opportunity to change her name, Diana, which she did not think fit "her own spiritual, rural Kentucky conception of her true heritage", and decided to pay homage to the Biblical figureNaomi, finding resonance in her story of moving to another land and eventually being left without a husband raising two women.[3][11]
With her daughterWynonna Judd, Naomi formed the successful country-music duo known asthe Judds throughout the 1980s.[12] They had twenty top ten country hits, released six albums and featured regularly at the annual country music awards shows.[13] They won fiveGrammy Awards, whereas Naomi won a Country Song of the Year Grammy for writing "Love Can Build a Bridge".[13] The duo had moderate mainstream and international success.[4]
The Judds broke up soon after Naomi Judd was diagnosed withhepatitis C in 1991.[14] The band's farewell concert was the most successful musical event in cablepay-per-view history.[15] Judd created the Naomi Judd Education and Research Fund in 1991 to raise awareness of hepatitis C, and used the strength of her experiences as a spokes-model for theAmerican Liver Foundation.[16]
She received the Golden Plate Award from theAmerican Academy of Achievement in 1993.[17][18][19] In 1998, she achieved virologic cure of hepatitis C following treatment withinterferon alpha.[20][21] The Judds reunited for a 1999 New Year's Eve concert inPhoenix at theAmerica West Arena, with Ashley as the MC.[13] This continued with the "Power to Change" tour throughout 2000,[22] while the Phoenix concert was released asThe Judds Reunion Live.[23] The duo was nominated as theAcademy of Country Music'stop vocal duo of the year in 2001.[24]
From 2003 to 2004, Judd featured as a judge on theStar Search show hosted byArsenio Hall.[13] Judd beganNaomi's New Morning, a Sunday morning talk show on theHallmark Channel, in 2005. The show lasted two seasons.[25] She was also the author of several self-help books, includingNaomi's Guide to Aging Gratefully: Facts, Myths, and Good News for Boomers (2007).[26]
Judd joined the television reality-competition seriesCan You Duet, as a judge and mentor in 2008.[27] The show aired onCMT.[28] She competed with her husband, Larry Strickland, in the first season of theFox Broadcasting reality cooking seriesMy Kitchen Rules in 2017.[29]
In 2021, Judd was one of the first to be inducted into theWomen Songwriters Hall of Fame.[30]
Judd made her first screen appearance in the 1979 comedy filmMore American Graffiti.[31] She executive produced the 1995 made-for-television filmNaomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge based on her book. She guest-starred in the television seriesSisters,The Client,3rd Rock from the Sun andTouched by an Angel. In 1993, Judd played the female lead oppositeKenny Rogers in the made-for-television WesternRio Diablo.[32] She continued to act, and in 1999 she starred as Lily Waite in the television film,A Holiday Romance.[33][34] Also that year, Judd starred in the drama filmFamily Tree.[35] She made a cameo appearance in the 2001 romantic comedy filmSomeone Like You starring Ashley Judd.
Judd starred alongsideLaura Prepon in the 2011Lifetime television movieThe Killing Game.[36] She later starred in theHallmark Channel filmsNearlyweds andWindow Wonderland, both released in 2013. In 2014, she starred as "Honey" in the Netflix filmAn Evergreen Christmas.[37] In 2021, Judd starred in the Lifetime adaptation ofV.C. Andrews' novelRuby playing the title character's grandmother.[38]
Judd had two daughters,Wynonna (b. 1964) andAshley (b. 1968). Wynonna is a musician and was the other half of their duo, the Judds. Ashley is an actress with a career spanning more than three decades.
Judd married her second husband, Larry Strickland of thePalmetto State Quartet, on May 6, 1989.[39] Strickland has also sung with other gospel groups, including J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet.
On April 30, 2022, Judd was found dead from aself-inflicted gunshot wound to her head at her home inLeiper's Fork, Tennessee. She was 76 years old.[1][39][40][41] She had long been struggling with depression accompanied byanxiety,panic attacks, andsuicidal ideation. The medications prescribed to her, includinglithium, produced side effects including facialedema,alopecia, andtremors, which caused her further emotional distress.[42] Her death came one day before she and Wynonna were inducted into theCountry Music Hall of Fame.[43][44]
Announcing her death, her daughterstweeted: "Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness."[45]Ashley Judd revealed the cause of her mother's death in a May 12, 2022, interview withDiane Sawyer onGood Morning America. She made the revelation to help raise awareness of mental illness, which she hoped would help those suffering from it. She also said that she and the rest of the family wanted the manner of death to be shared by them rather than a secondhand source.[46]
A memorial for Judd was televised onCMT.Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration was broadcast from theRyman Auditorium, as specified by Judd before she died and was hosted byRobin Roberts. It featured appearances fromAshley Judd, Larry Strickland,Bono,Bette Midler,Martina McBride,Reba McEntire,Reese Witherspoon,Morgan Freeman,Oprah Winfrey andSalma Hayek, plus performances by Wynonna,Brad Paisley,Carly Pearce,Ashley McBryde,Emmylou Harris andAllison Russell,Little Big Town,Brandi Carlile, andJamey Johnson.[47]
| Year | Title | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [48] | |||
| 2004 | "Flies on the Butter (You Can't Go Home Again)" (withWynonna Judd) | 33 | What the World Needs Now Is Love |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | More American Graffiti | Girl in Bus | |
| 1983 | Living Proof: The Hank Williams, Jr. Story | Redhead | Television film |
| 1993 | Rio Diablo | Flora Mae Pepper | Television film |
| 1994 | Sisters | Naomi Judd | Episode: "Up in the Air" |
| 1995 | Naomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge | Executive producer | |
| 1996 | The Client | Psychiatrist | Episode: "Damn Yankees" |
| 1996 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Frances Randell | Episode: "Father Knows Dick" |
| 1998 | Littlest Angel's Easter | Understanding Angel | Voice |
| 1999 | Family Tree | Sarah Musser | |
| 1999 | A Holiday Romance | Lily Waite | Television film |
| 2000 | Touched by an Angel | Liz | Episode: "Mother's Day" |
| 2001 | Someone Like You... | Makeup Artist | |
| 2002 | Maybe It's Me | Tillie Krupp | Episode: "The Wedding and a Funeral Episode" |
| 2002 | Frasier | Lillian (voice) | Episode: "War of the Words" |
| 2005 | Higglytown Heroes | School Nurse Hero (voice) | Episode: "Two Bees or Not Two Bees" |
| 2011 | The Killing Game | Sandra Duncan | Television film |
| 2011 | The Judds | Herself | Executive producer, 6 episodes |
| 2013 | Nearlyweds | Renee | Television film |
| 2013 | Window Wonderland | Rita Dorentella | Television film |
| 2014 | An Evergreen Christmas | Honey | |
| 2021 | Ruby | Catherine Landry | Television film |
The Judds' story began in Ashland, KY, where Naomi was born Diana Ellen Judd on January 11, 1946.
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