Naomi Judd Dead at 76: Country Stars Pay Tribute
She was not on the list.
Carrie Underwood, Maren Morris, Reba McEntire and more remember the late Naomi Judd. See their emotional reactions to the country music icon's passing.
Judd, best known as half of the mother-daughter act The Judds with Wynonna Judd, passed away on Saturday outside of Nashville. The duo was set to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday. She was 76 years old.
Naomi’s daughter and Wynonna’s sister, the actress Ashley Judd, confirmed Naomi’s passing on Twitter. She wrote that, “we lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness” and added, “we are in unknown territory.”
Naomi and Wynonna began singing together professionally in the early 1980s, ultimately selling over 20 million records, collecting five Grammys, and hitting the top of Billboard’s Hot Country chart 14 times.
The group had their successful “Last Encore Tour” from November 2010 to October 2011, billed at the time as their farewell to the road after a long hiatus. In April of this year, however, they announced a surprise 10-date string of concerts, meant to begin this September, concluding at the Bridgestone Center in Nashville, Tennessee. (The Judds’s official website still has the concert nights listed.) Concurrent with the concert announcement, they sang “Love Can Build A Bridge” at the Country Music Television Awards, which now stands as their final public performance together.
Naomi was born Diana Ellen Judd in Ashland, Kentucky, in January 1946. She had her first daughter Wynonna at the age of 18, and four years later gave birth to Ashley, mostly raising the girls as a single parent. The Judds released six studio albums between 1984 and 1990, then disbanded in 1991 when Naomi was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Most of their best-known material was composed by other songwriters, but Naomi wrote “Change of Heart” from the duo’s first EP, Wynonna & Naomi, which was included on their first greatest hits package, which went double platinum.
Wynonna continued a successful solo career, with occasional appearances from her mother at concerts, on singles, and on television. Naomi also appeared as an actress in some made-for-television holiday movies like Window Wonderland and A Holiday Romance with Andy Griffith, plus appearances on shows such as Frasier, Third Rock From The Sun and Touched By An Angel. She was also a host on a reworked version of Star Search and had her own chat show on the Hallmark Channel for a time.
In 2016, Naomi went public with her diagnosis of “severe depression and anxiety.” She published a memoir, River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope. “May this book serve you in the way my brave mother hopes it may,” Ashley Judd wrote at the time.
Fellow musicians praised Naomi’s talent and spirit after news of her death spread. Travis Tritt called her passing “heartbreaking” and said Naomi was “was one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known.”
Carrie Underwood noted that “country music lost a true legend."
Bill Anderson, the 84-year-old singer-songwriter and television host known as “Whispering Bill,” remembered the first time he saw Naomi sing, and how he was looking forward to retelling the story at the Country Music Hall of Fame ceremony. Ashley Judd, amplifying his statement, said, “this moves me deeply. Thank you. I am weeping.”
Anne Murray called Naomi “a lovely woman,” Kristen Chenoweth said she was “incredibly kind,” and Rosanna Arquette sent “love and light to Ashley and Wynonna.”
Third Rock From The Sun star Kristen Johnston talked about meeting the iconic singer when she did a guest appearance on the show.
Singer-songwriter Maren Morris wrote “rest in peace” and commented on her recent Country Music Television Awards performance. Crystal Gayle remembered her as a fellow Kentuckian, and country artist Ty Herndon wrote that “a country music legend will never be forgotten.”
And the social media arm of the Oak Ridge Boys wrote, “Oh Sweet Jesus... Naomi Judd has gone home.
She continued to act occasionally (one of her first acting jobs was a small role in More American Graffiti in 1979). In 1999, she starred as Lily Waite alongside Andy Griffith and Gerald McRaney in the film A Holiday Romance.
In 1999, The Judds reunited for a New Year's Eve concert in Phoenix at the America West Arena, with Ashley as the MC. In 2000, the Judds reunited again for their "Power to Change" tour, performing to over 300,000 people on 30 dates. The duo was nominated as the Academy of Country Music's top vocal duo of the year in 2001. From 2003 to 2004, Judd judged on the revamped version of Star Search hosted by Arsenio Hall.
In 2005, Judd began Naomi's New Morning, a talk show on Sunday mornings on the Hallmark Channel. The show lasted two seasons.[23] She is also the author of several self-help books, including Naomi's Guide to Aging Gratefully: Facts, Myths, and Good News for Boomers (2007).
In 2008, Judd joined a new television reality-competition series Can You Duet, as a judge and mentor. The show aired on CMT.
In 2011, Judd starred alongside actress Laura Prepon in the Lifetime television movie The Killing Game.
In 2014, she starred as "Honey" in An Evergreen Christmas.
In 2017, Judd competed with her husband in the first season of the Fox Broadcasting reality cooking series My Kitchen Rules
Actress (20 credits)
2021 V.C. Andrews' Landry Family (TV Series)
Catherine Landry
- V.C. Andrews' Ruby (2021) ... Catherine Landry
2014 An Evergreen Christmas
Honey
2013 Window Wonderland (TV Movie)
Rita Dorentella
2013 Nearlyweds (TV Movie)
Renee
2011 The Killing Game (TV Movie)
Sandra Duncan
2005 Higglytown Heroes (TV Series)
School Nurse Hero
- Two Bees or Not Two Bees (2005) ... School Nurse Hero (voice)
2002 Frasier (TV Series)
Lillian
- War of the Words (2002) ... Lillian (voice)
2002 Maybe It's Me (TV Series)
Tillie Krupp
- The Wedding and a Funeral Episode (2002) ... Tillie Krupp
2001 Someone Like You
Makeup Artist
2000 Touched by an Angel (TV Series)
Liz
- Mother's Day (2000) ... Liz
1999 A Holiday Romance (TV Movie)
Lily Waite
1999 Family Tree
Sarah Musser
1998 Littlest Angel's Easter (Video short)
Understanding Angel (voice)
1996 3rd Rock from the Sun (TV Series)
Frances Randell
- Father Knows Dick (1996) ... Frances Randell
1996 The Client (TV Series)
Psychiatrist
- Damn Yankees (1996) ... Psychiatrist
1994 Sisters (TV Series)
Naomi Judd
- Up in the Air (1994) ... Naomi Judd
1993 Rio Diablo (TV Movie)
Flora Mae Pepper
1990 The Judds: Love Can Build A Bridge (Music Video)
1983 Living Proof: The Hank Williams, Jr. Story (TV Movie)
Redhead
1979 More American Graffiti
Girl in Bus
