Biography of Ashley Judd

Although Ashley Judd is the daughter of Naomi Judd and half-sister of Wynonna -- the mother and daughter group that make up the country duet the Judds -- it's apparent that Ashley has managed to make a successful name for herself with acting. With a blockbuster and big Hollywood roles under her belt, the acting Judd is only at the beginning of what can be a huge movie career.

Things weren't always so peachy for the youngest Judd, living in several rundown Kentucky homes with her dirt-poor family. Even without the comforts of what can be considered the bare necessities, such as running water, electricity, or a telephone, the Judd girls still found ways to keep themselves entertained. While Wynonna and her mother sang on the front porch, Ashley would immerse herself in books, acting out the different characters in the stories. Ashley attended 12 schools in 13 years, until her sister and mother made it big in the country music industry.

When Judd graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1990, she initially thought of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa. Her sister Wynonna advised her to pursue an acting career, and next thing Ashley knew, she was in LA, trying out her luck as an actress. She didn't need much luck, since the first agency she waltzed into immediately signed her. The same thing happened with her first audition; she got the part in the movie Kuffs, albeit not the part she was originally aiming for.

Judd then moved to the small screen with a recurring role on Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well the part of Swoosie Kurtz's daughter on the NBC series Sisters from 1991 to 1994. In 1992, she had a role in the made-for-TV movie Till Death Do Us Part and two years later, she appeared in the Roundabout Theater's revival of Picnic, which was her first time working on Broadway. Judd's return to the big screen was marked by a starring role in Ruby in Paradise, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. Judd also earned an Independent Spirit Award for her role as Ruby. It was all uphill from thereon.

Even though Judd was mostly in supporting roles in films, her acting was more than merely supportive, and did not go unnoticed. She was Stockard Channing's druggie daughter in Smoke, Val Kilmer's strong wife in Heat and Matthew McConaughey's wife in the southern courtroom drama A Time to Kill. Then came Judd's Emmy nominated performance, not as merely the wife of a big time actor -- she played the young legendary Marilyn in the 1996 HBO biography Norma Jean and Marilyn.

In 1997 Judd co-starred with Morgan Freeman in Kiss the Girls, which raised her status as an actress. The huge box- office success of Double Jeopardy, in which she played a housewife framed for the murder of her husband made up for the box-office duds Judd was involved with, namely Simon Birch (1998) and A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Naomi Judd says that the men swarmed towards her daughter when she was growing up, which is not hard to believe for a woman with such natural beauty, country girl charm, intelligence and incredible appeal. Recently married to Scottish race-car driver Dario Franchitti, Judd has been romantically involved with Robert De Niro (who worked with her in Heat), Matthew McConaughey and Michael Bolton.

Judd recently starred in the box-office disappointment Eye of the Beholder, portrays an Oklahoma mother in the just released Where the Heart Is, and will begin filming for Animal Husbandry this summer. It's obvious that Ashley Judd has made it big on her own, not needing the last name Judd to increase her profile or acclaim as an actress. She made a point of this, by refusing to appear in the autobiographical movie about the Judds, starring Naomi and Wynonna (she did the narration for the film), as well as Kenny Rogers' 1993 Rio Diablo which her mother starred in. Ashley has proved that success is in more than just a name. What else do you need to know?