How did Naomi Judd's work as a nurse help launch her daughter's career?
And how did a tragic diagnosis change everything?
Keep watching to learn what happened when the accomplished country musician stepped
out of the spotlight.
As the country music world continues to react to the devastating news of Naomi Judd's unexpected
death, one thing has become abundantly clear.
In many ways, Judd represented country music's 20th-century mother — a mix of down-home
country and contemporary values, as NPR described her.
Nowhere is this better epitomized than in The Judds' 1984 hit "Mama He's Crazy."
The song tells the story of a daughter explaining to her mother the intense feelings of first
love.
In one sense, the daughter's looking to her mom for wisdom and emotional stability.
She also wants her mother's acceptance, but as the music video reveals, this proves difficult.
Flashbacks in the video depict the mother's tragic experience with love, which makes her
nervous for her daughter.
But at the same time, she's a modern parent who has faith in her daughter to make the
right choices.
It's a clear update to the country music story of how women of different generations interact.
As writer Jewly Hight argues,
"Naomi's emergence as one of the most famous mothers in country music was a revelation."
Besides acting as a mother-like figure within the country music world, Naomi Judd was the
entertainer and impresario during her eight years of performing with her daughter.
She wore full-skirted, colorful costumes and bounced around on stage telling jokes and
flirting with the audience.
Her style provided a foil to Wynonna Judd's rock 'n' roll persona, equal parts Bonnie
Raitt and Elvis Presley.
The way they sang also proved to be a study in contrasts.
While Wynonna Judd brought an unforgettable voice and musical talent to the group, she
proved a bit shy and reserved on stage.
Naomi Judd provided rich harmony, willing to take a back seat to her daughter's soulful
melodies.
She rarely sang above Wynonna Judd, preferring to deepen and bolster her daughter's voice.
But when it came to show-stopping antics, heartfelt storytelling, and folksy charm,
nothing beat Naomi Judd.
She turned each performance into a truly entertaining experience that won over fans and kept people
glued to their shows.
Of course, the vast differences in their personalities could also prove troublesome at times.
Music was one of their only outlets.
Before making it big, they faced crippling poverty, which relegated them to purchasing
bargain bin recordings.
But this worked to their advantage.
By learning the songs of the past, many of them coal mining ballads straight out of the
heart of Appalachia, Naomi Judd introduced her daughter to the history of country music.
Exploring this musical heritage provided a common ground.
As Naomi said,
"Wynonna and I couldn't talk to each other, but, lo and behold, we could sing together."
Naomi Judd was born in Ashland, Kentucky, on January 11, 1946, to Charles Glen Judd,
a gas station owner, and Pauline Ruth Oliver, a homemaker.
Situated along the Ohio River, Ashland sits just below the Big Sandy River's mouth, forming
an industrial complex with two neighboring cities.
In existence since 1815, the town has long represented a center of coal and timber production.
Judd inherited the rich culture of Appalachia including its song traditions.
Her career made Tennessee a more convenient home, and she lived there for more than 20
years.
But blood is thicker than water, and this proves just as true when it comes to homelands.
Judd always found reasons to visit her home state, and she remained a celebrated hometown
girl throughout her career, returning to raise money for charities.
"Ashland is really, really feels proud."
Naomi Judd was a star student in high school who had college ambitions, according to the
New York Times.
But after briefly dating a football player named Charles Jordon, she became pregnant,
and her life changed forever.
When Jordon learned of the pregnancy, he refused to accept responsibility for his daughter.
This was an untenable situation in 1964, leaving Judd pressured to marry another classmate,
Michael Ciminella.
Judd gave birth to Wynonna Judd in June of that year, which meant foregoing high school
graduation.
By 1968, the young family relocated to Los Angeles, California, and had a second daughter,
Ashley Judd, but the couple divorced by 1972.
Naomi Judd remained determined to make it as a single mom.
Amazingly, she juggled nursing school and raising two daughters alone.
But California didn't feel like home and an altercation with an ex-boyfriend sealed the
deal.
She packed up her kids and moved back to Kentucky, taking up residence in Morrill, a town with
one main road and 50 residents.
Foregoing basics like television and a phone line, Wynonna Judd recalled,
"If we didn't make it or grow it, we didn't have it."
"So she taught me how to, uh, make something from nothing."
To pass the time, Judd and her eldest daughter sang together in the evenings.
Although everyone knows The Judds as Wynonna and Naomi, these weren't their original names.
Naomi Judd was christened Diana Ellen Judd, and after marrying Michael Ciminella, she
took his last name.
She named her firstborn Christina Claire Ciminella.
But once the marriage dissolved, Judd wanted her maiden name back, and she didn't want
to stop there.
Diana didn't fit her identity, so she looked to the Bible for a little inspiration.
She went with Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth.
After she and Wynonna Judd made it big in country music, it forced an equally difficult
choice.
She left her younger daughter, Ashley Judd, with her ex-husband while the red-headed duo
toured.
It's also worth noting that these name changes came before stardom, so they represent more
than stage names.
In Naomi Judd's case, the rechristening signified her role as a mother and her deep Kentucky
roots in the heart of the Bible belt.
"A lot of mothers and daughters out there, we see ourselves in you all."
Before making it big in Nashville, Tennessee, Naomi Judd led a hard-scrabble life as a single
mother working any job she could to keep the family afloat.
Returning to Kentucky gave her the chance to attend nursing school in Berea, according
to PBS.
It also allowed her and her daughters to move to Tennessee, where she worked as a registered
nurse in the intensive care unit for a handful of years, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
In 1991, Naomi Judd retired prematurely from country music's favorite duo, her body failing
due to a hepatitis C diagnosis.
Her nursing career came back to haunt her as she'd contracted the disease years earlier
after accidentally getting pricked by a used needle.
Speaking to an audience of nurses in Morristown, New Jersey, she explained,
"When I was told I had hepatitis C, I was on top of the world, selling out arenas.
Then, I was told I had three stinkin' years to live."
The shock of this news left her reeling and with the feeling she'd been medically cursed.
"It was just unbelievable, if you can imagine having to give up what you look forward to
getting out of bed to do every morning."
Working as a nurse proved a bittersweet aspect of Naomi Judd's life.
Because of her time in the medical field, she always fostered a camaraderie with other
nurses, and the profession allowed her to support her family as a single mother.
Although it would eventually be the reason her musical career got cut short, it also
provided The Judds their initial entrance into the country music world.
Naomi Judd was the first person to recognize her daughter's incredible vocal talents, and
she didn't hesitate about what to do.
Her registered nursing license allowed her to move the whole family to Nashville, Tennessee.
Eventually, through one of her patients, she secured a live audition at RCA.
She and Wynonna Judd performed for producer Tony Brown and studio head Joe Galante.
At the time, Wynonna Judd was just 18 years old.
Despite their inexperience performing in front of others, the duo impressed RCA.
Two hours later, they walked out of the audition as The Judds with a contract in hand.
The duo released their first album in 1984, and it quickly shot to the top of the charts.
Over the years, Naomi Judd opened up about the depression she struggled with.
Describing her mental illness as life-threatening, she noted that fans never suspected this side
of her life, adding,
"Because they see me in rhinestones, with glitter in my hair.
That really is who I am."
"But then I would come home and not leave the house for three weeks, and not get out
of my pajamas, not practice."
Judd's forced premature retirement in 1991 didn't help.
Over the years, she occasionally went on the road with Wynonna Judd on short tours.
But after these brief episodes ended, she felt catapulted back into depression and suicidal
thoughts, according to the New York Post.
One of her worst episodes of depression occurred after completing the Last Encore Tour in 2012.
At her worst, the singer's depression contributed to extreme panic attacks, not remedied by
heavy medication.
To get better, she turned to various therapies and even spent time in psychiatric facilities.
But to no avail.
To add to her spiraling feelings of grief, memories she'd suppressed since early childhood
sprang to the surface.
They involved her great uncle sexually abusing her as a child, which devastated her.
"My final diagnosis was severe depression, treatment resistant."
After retiring from The Judds, Naomi Judd struggled to find purpose in her life and
a new identity apart from the one she'd crafted onstage.
Inevitably, this led her to explore some of her other interests.
Dolly Parton alluded to one of these in an Instagram following Judd's death, writing,
"Naomi and I were close.
We were very similar.
We were the same age and both Capricorns.
We loved big hair, makeup, and music."
It would be the love of makeup that helped Judd forge new paths after leaving The Judds.
According to Women's Wear Daily, Judd started her cosmetic company Naomi, creator of the
Esteem Skin Care line, in 2003.
The line was developed in collaboration with Judds' dermatologist, Melvin Elson, with the
help of a biochemist.
By 2004, the company boasted $9 million in sales, according to Cosmetic Designs.
On May 6, 1989, Naomi Judd married Larry Strickland in a ceremony at Nashville's Christ Church
with both daughters serving as bridesmaids.
Wynonna Judd also officiated over the ceremony along with Don Potter, a member of The Judds'
band.
The wedding launched Naomi Judd's second foray into domesticity, and the couple was still
going strong three decades later.
Sadly, Naomi Judd died just a few months before their 33rd wedding anniversary.
During her lifetime, when asked about the success of her marriage, Judd attributed it
to similar backgrounds, saying,
"Larry and I are both from a family of six, very blue-collar.
He worked in the tobacco field every summer.
My daddy had his own gas station and taught me the hard work ethic.
Larry is the most humble person I've ever met."
But they shared more than a similar socioeconomic past.
The two also loved music and singing.
Strickland enjoyed a musical career as a backup singer for Elvis.
Although Naomi Judd would forever be synonymous with The Judds, she represented a true renaissance
woman.
Highly successful in a variety of endeavors, she explored wide-ranging passions.
For example, she was a prolific author.
She wrote three children's books, as well as 1995's Love Can Build a Bridge, 2004's
Naomi's Breakthrough Guide, and 2016's River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How
I Emerged with Hope.
But her talents didn't end there.
According to People, she spent two years hosting Naomi's New Morning on the Hallmark Channel
from 2005 through 2007.
She also returned to the channel for appearances on Home & Family, including holiday specials.
What's more, she worked on the — as of her death unreleased — Fox-led docu-series the
Icon project.
The project highlights some of the biggest names in music, and Judd served as an executive
producer of the show along with Wynonna Judd.
According to Variety, the first season of the project was set to show case The Judds.
There's no word on whether this will change in the wake of Naomi Judd's unexpected death.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text
Line by texting HOME to 741741, or call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline
at 1-800-950-NAMI [NAH-me] (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.