MOTHER-daughter music duo The Judds consisted of Naomi and her eldest daughter Wynonna.
Prior to Naomi’s death, she rose to prominence for her achievements in the country music genre.
Born on January 11, 1946, Naomi Judd was a native of Ashland, Kentucky.
She welcomed her first child, Wynonna, at the age of 18 years old.
Four years later, she birthed her daughter Ashley.
From 1964 through 1972, Naomi was married to Michael Ciminella.
Read More on Naomi Judd
After the two split, Naomi and her daughters made the move to California.
Naomi began attending nursing school at the College of Marin before she and Wynonna joined forces to create The Judds.
She remarried in 1989 to Larry Strickland, and the two remained together until Naomi’s death in 2022.
The Judds first signed a record deal in 1983, releasing six studio albums before 1991.
Naomi and Wynona Judd became a highly successful duo, winning five Grammy Awards and nine Country Music Association (CMA) awards.
The mother-daughter group was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2021.
Although they officially disbanded in 1991, the duo regularly reunited for performances throughout the years.
Before Naomi passed away in April, The Judds played together at the 2022 CMT Music Awards.
On Saturday, April 30, 2022, Naomi Judd passed away at the age of 76 from a self-inflicted firearm wound.
“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy,” wrote Wynonna and Ashley Judd in a statement released to the Associated Press.
“We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.”
The statement continued: “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public.”
SUICIDE is the 10th leading cause of death in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Leading Causes of Death Report from 2018.
There were “more than two and half times as many suicides” in the US than there were homicides, according to the report.
For people ages 10 and 34, suicide was the “second leading cause of death” and the fourth for individuals ages 35 to 54.
Suicide is a vital health concern in the U.S. It affects all genders, races and ages.
This is why The-Sun.com launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The campaign calls on readers to discuss their mental health issues with their family, friends and health professionals. We can all pitch in to help out others who may be suffering and help save lives.
If you are struggling to cope, you are not alone. There are many free and confidential programs in the US aimed to help those who are struggling with their mental health.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health problems, these organizations are here to provide support:
The daughters concluded: “We are in unknown territory.”
In a Good Morning America interview that aired May 12, 2022, Ashley Judd discussed her mother’s death and revealed her mother died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“My mother used a firearm,” Ashley said in the interview, per Variety. “That’s the piece of information that we are very uncomfortable sharing, but understand that we’re in a position that if we don’t say it someone else is going to.”
On August 26, 2022, Naomi’s autopsy disclosed the singer’s cause of death.
The report confirmed that the late singer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
There were a number of prescription drugs used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder found in her system.
Upon the unveiling of the autopsy, the late performer’s family stated: “We have always shared openly both the joys of being family as well its sorrows, too.
“One part of our story is that our matriarch was dogged by an unfair foe.
“She was treated for PTSD and bipolar disorder, to which millions of Americans can relate.”
