Ashley Judd

Judd was born in Granada Hills, Los Angeles. She is the daughter of Naomi Judd, a country music singer and motivational speaker, and Michael Charles Ciminella, a marketing analyst for the horseracing industry.[1][2][3] Ashley's elder sister, Wynonna, is also a country music singer. Her paternal grandfather was of Sicilian descent, and her paternal grandmother was a descendant of Mayflower pilgrim William Brewster.[4][5] At the time of her birth, her mother was a homemaker; she did not become well known as a singer until the early 1980s. Judd's parents divorced in 1972. The following year, her mother took Ashley back to Naomi's native Kentucky, where Judd spent the majority of her childhood.[6]

Judd attended 13 schools before college, including the Sayre School (Lexington, Kentucky), Paul G. Blazer High School (Ashland, Kentucky) and Franklin High School in Tennessee. She briefly tried modeling in Japan during a school break. An alumna of the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Kentucky, she majored in French and minored in anthropology, art history, theater, and women's studies. She spent a semester studying in France as part of her major. She graduated from the UK Honors Program and was nominated to Phi Beta Kappa but did not graduate with her class.[7] Forgoing her commitment to join the Peace Corps, after college she drove to Hollywood, where she studied with acting teacher Robert Carnegie at Playhouse West. During this time, she worked as a hostess at The Ivy restaurant and lived in a Malibu rental house, which burned down in 1993. Around that time, her half-sister Wynonna Judd leased her a historic farmhouse and 10 acres (4 ha) of land in Williamson County, Tennessee. She moved to Tennessee and lived near her mother Naomi and sister Wynonna.[8]

Judd at an ABC Missing event at The Paley Center in April 2012

Judd appeared as Ensign Robin Lefler, a Starfleet officer, in two 1991 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Darmok" and "The Game". From 1991 to 1994, she had a recurring role as Reed, the daughter of Alex (Swoosie Kurtz), on the NBC drama Sisters. She made her feature film debut with a small role in 1992's Kuffs. In 1993, Judd fought for and was cast in her first starring role playing the title character in Victor Nuñez's Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize dramatic winner Ruby in Paradise. Convinced that this role would shape the rest of her career, Judd was extremely nervous for the audition, nearly getting into a car accident en route. "From the first three sentences, I knew it was written for me", she told the San Jose Mercury News.[9] She received rave reviews playing Ruby Lee Gissing, a young woman trying to make a new life for herself, and it was this performance that would launch her career as an actress. Nuñez told author James L. Dickerson that the resonance of the character was Judd's creation: "The resonance, those moments, was not contrived. It was just a matter of creating the scene and trusting that it was worth telling."[10]

Oliver Stone, who had seen her in Nuñez's film, cast Judd in Natural Born Killers, but her scenes were later cut from the version of the film released theatrically. The following year, she gained further critical acclaim for her role as Harvey Keitel's estranged daughter in Wayne Wang's Smoke and also as Val Kilmer's wife in Michael Mann's Heat. That same year she also played the role of Callie in Philip Ridley's dark, adult fairy tale, The Passion of Darkly Noon. In 1996, she co-starred with Mira Sorvino as Marilyn Monroe in Norma Jean and Marilyn, where she recreated the photo shoot for the centerfold for the first issue of Playboy. The same year she had a supporting role in the court room thriller film A Time to Kill (1996) which received positive reviews and was a major box office success. By the end of the 1990s, Judd had managed to achieve significant fame and success as a leading actress, after leading roles in several thrillers that performed well at the box office, including Kiss the Girls in 1997 and 1999's Double Jeopardy.

In early 2000s she starred in Where the Heart Is (2000), Someone Like You (2001), and High Crimes (2002). These films were moderate box office successes;[11] however, the film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) performed well at the box office. In 2002 she also starred in the critically acclaimed film Frida and in 2004 she received positive recognition, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, for her performance in the biography of Cole Porter, De-Lovely, opposite Kevin Kline. In the same year, she starred in Twisted, the worst-reviewed movie of 2004 with 131 of 133 critics panning it.[12] To date, Twisted is the last major Hollywood film in which she received top billing.

In June 2007, Goody's Family Clothing announced they were going to be releasing three fashion clothing lines with Judd in the fall to be called "AJ", "Love Ashley" and "Ashley Judd". Goody's declared bankruptcy a year later due to slow sales and its last store closed in February 2009.

Judd is currently the magazine advertising "face" of American Beauty, an Estée Lauder cosmetic brand sold exclusively at Kohl's department stores, and H. Stern jewelers. In early 2012, however, her image suddenly disappeared from American Beauty's website. The cosmetic line has since been discontinued.[13] Judd was Janet Tamaro’s original choice for the role of Detective Jane Rizzoli in the TV series Rizzoli & Isles but declined & the role was given to Angie Harmon instead. In 2011, Judd co-starred with Patrick Dempsey in the film Flypaper. It grossed only $1,100 total in its very limited theatrical release and received a 17% Rotten Tomatoes rating (15 of 18 critics panned it).[14] That April, Judd released her memoir All That is Bitter and Sweet, where she talks about her trials and tribulations from adolescence to adulthood.[15] In 2012, Judd starred as Rebecca Winstone on the ABC series Missing. The series was not renewed for a second season.[16]

In 2014, Judd appeared as Natalie Prior in Divergent, which she reprised in the 2015 sequel Insurgent.

In 2014, Judd was the narrator of the documentary film about Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen, Love is a Verb, directed by Terry Spencer Hesser.[17]

In 2015, Judd became the first woman to narrate the opening for the telecast of the Kentucky Derby.[18][19]

Judd at the second day of qualifications for the 2009 Indianapolis 500

In December 1999, Judd became engaged to Scottish racing driver Dario Franchitti, who was driving in CART. Since the demise of CART, Franchitti has raced in IndyCar and NASCAR. They married in December 2001 at Skibo Castle in Scotland.[20][21] They had no children because Judd is anti-birthing: "It's unconscionable to breed with the number of children who are starving to death in impoverished countries."[21] They divorced in 2013.[22]

Ashley Judd is also an avid martial arts practitioner who enjoys Kickboxing, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kung-Fu, & Taekwondo. In February 2006, Judd entered a program at Shades of Hope Treatment Center in Buffalo Gap, Texas, and stayed for 47 days.[23] She was there for treatment of depression, insomnia, and codependency.[24]

For more than a decade, Judd's humanitarian work has focused on gender equality and the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls. In 2016, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for UNFPA, the United Nations reproductive health and rights agency. As of May 2018, she had so far visited UNFPA's projects for women and girls affected by humanitarian crises in Jordan, Turkey, Ukraine,[37] and Bangladesh,[38] and its development work in India[39] and Sri Lanka.[40]

Judd has also travelled with YouthAIDS to places affected by illness and poverty such as Cambodia, Kenya, and Rwanda.[41] She has since become an advocate for preventing poverty and promoting awareness internationally. She has met with political and religious leaders on behalf of the deprived about political and social change.[41] Judd has also narrated three documentaries for YouthAIDS that aired on the Discovery Channel, in National Geographic, and on VH1.

In 2011, she joined the Leadership Council of the International Center for Research on Women.[42] Other organizations Judd has been involved with include Women for Women International and Equality Now.[41] She is also a member of the advisory board for Apne Aap Women Worldwide, an organization fighting sex-trafficking and inter-generational prostitution in India.[43]

Judd is active on the speakers' circuit, giving speeches about gender equality, abuse and humanitarian topics.[44]

Other work

Judd (upper left) on the cover of Ms. magazine's "This is what a feminist looks like" 2003 issue

Judd has supported the following charities and foundations:[45]

• Apne Aap Women Worldwide
• Children's Medical Research Institute
• Committee for Children
• Creative Coalition
• Defenders of Wildlife
• Eracism Foundation
• Equality Now
• Five & Alive
• Jeans for Genes
• International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
• Listen Campaign
• Malaria No More
• Population Services International
• SixDegrees.org
• UNFPA

In 2008, Judd supported Barack Obama's presidential campaign. In 2009, she appeared in a one-minute video advertisement for the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, in which Judd condemned Alaska governor Sarah Palin for supporting aerial wolf hunting.[46] In response, Palin stated the reason these wolves are killed is to protect the caribou population in Alaska. Palin called the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund an "extreme fringe group".[47] In 2010, Judd signed the Animal Legal Defense Fund's petition to urge Governor Steve Beshear to protect Kentucky's homeless animals through tough enforcement of the state's Humane Shelter Law.[48]

Judd meeting with Senator Richard Lugar in 2005

Judd is active in humanitarian and political causes. She was appointed Global Ambassador for YouthAIDS, an education and prevention program of the international NGO Population Services International (PSI), promoting AIDS prevention and treatment. Judd was honored November 10, 2009, as the recipient of the fourth annual USA Today Hollywood Hero, awarded for her work with PSI.[49] On October 29, 2006, Judd appeared at a "Women for Ford" event for Democratic Tennessee Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr. She has also campaigned extensively locally and nationally for a variety of Democratic candidates, including President Barack Obama in critical swing states.

On September 8, 2010, CNN interviewed Judd about her second humanitarian mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo.[50] Judd traveled with the Enough Project, a project to end genocide and crimes against humanity. In the interview, Judd discussed her efforts to raise awareness about how conflict minerals fuel sexual violence in Congo. During her trip, Judd visited hospitals for victims of sexual violence, camps for displaced persons, mines, and civil society organizations. On September 30, 2010, cnn.com published an op-ed titled "Ashley Judd: Electronics fuel unspeakable violence"[51] by Judd and Enough Project co-founder John Prendergast regarding the continued violence in Congo. Her op-ed discussed the recent provision in the Dodd-Frank Reform bill that requires companies to prove where their minerals originated. On November 26, 2010, The Huffington Post published an op-ed by Judd, "Costs of Convenience".[52] The op-ed is excerpted from Ashley Judd's trip diary from her trip to eastern Congo. Judd describes the link between her cell phone, laptop, MP3 player and e-reader and the continued rape and sexual violence in Congo.

Judd again supported Democrats in the 2012 elections, endorsing President Barack Obama for re-election although she did not contribute financially to his campaign.[53] She represented Tennessee as a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. She also considered returning to Kentucky and challenging U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2014.[54] In response, the Conservative Super PAC "American Crossroads" released an attack ad against Judd in Kentucky.[55]

In February 2013, she invited her Twitter followers to join a mailing list, hinting that she might ultimately announce a run for the Senate to those on the list.[56] However, she announced on her Twitter feed on March 27, 2013, that she would not run, citing her "need to be focused on my family".[57] Judd endorsed Alison Lundergan Grimes, Secretary of State of Kentucky after she announced her candidacy.[58]

Judd took part in the 2017 Women's March. She performed a poem written by Nashville-area poet Nina Donovan, "Nasty Woman", to applause from the crowd.[59]

In January 2020 , Judd endorsed Democratic Nominee Elizabeth Warren for the 2020 United States presidential election.[60]

• Kentucky Colonel[62]
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Union College, Barbourville, Kentucky[63]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ashley Judd.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Ashley Judd

• Official website
• Ashley Judd on IMDb
• Ashley Judd at the TCM Movie Database
• Ashley Judd at the Internet Broadway Database
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Ashley Judd on Charlie Rose
• "Ashley Judd collected news and commentary". The New York Times.
• Works by or about Ashley Judd in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Columns at The Guardian
• YouthAid's Ambassador Ashley Judd launches US-funded Newstart Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centre (VCT) for HIV/AIDS in Cape Town
• "Sarah Palin's Ongoing Wolf Slaughter" – Judd's video for Defenders of Wildlife
• Ashley Judd at Emmys.com