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Wynonna Judd biography

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Quick Facts

  • NAME: Wynonna Judd
  • OCCUPATION: Singer
  • BIRTH DATE: May 30, 1964 (Age: 47)
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Ashland, Kentucky
  • Originally: Christina Claire Ciminella
more about Wynonna

Best Known For

Wynonna Judd is a country music superstar, famous for her solo hits and alongside her mother, Naomi Judd.

Synopsis

Born in Kentucky, Wynonna Judd was raised in poverty by her mother, Naomi Judd. Mother and daughter shared a love of singing, and moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. In 1983, the Judds were signed to RCA records— and were shot into country music superstardom. The Judds
sold over 20 million albums and won five Grammys. After her mother fell ill, Wynonna pursued a solo career,

Contents

Quotes

I literally went from the outhouse to the White House.
– Wynonna Judd

with equally huge success— in spite of some personal struggles.
Wynonna's half-sister, Ashley Judd, is an accomplished actress.

Profile

Musician. Born Christina Claire Ciminella in Ashland, Kentucky on May 30, 1963, Wynonna Judd never met her biological father, a man named Charles Jordan. Her mother Naomi Judd, only 18 years old at the time, married Michael Ciminella shortly before her birth. Her sister Ashley Judd was born in 1968, a few years before their mother's marriage broke up. Wynonna Judd's family was quite poor when she was very young and moved around often before eventually settling down in Kentucky. Wynonna and Ashley wore second-hand clothes and occasionally lived in houses without electricity or indoor plumbing. Looking back on her impoverished childhood after decades of stardom, which included a performance at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Judd remarked, "I literally went from the outhouse to the White House."

Wynonna Judd and her mother built a very close, if occasionally rather dysfunctional, relationship, "Right or wrong," Wynonna said, "from a very early age I believed my mother needed me as much as I needed her." In 1979, Wynonna and Naomi changed their surnames from Ciminella to Naomi's rootsier-sounding maiden name, Judd, and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, the country music capital of the world, to pursue careers in the recording industry. They signed to the label RCA Records in 1983, performing as a duo called, simply, The Judds.

Between 1983 and 1991, The Judds rose to superstardom in the country music world, selling over 20 million albums, cracking the top ten singles chart on 20 different occasions, and winning five Grammys, in addition to sweeping every major country music award for eight years running. Wynonna Judd sang lead vocals and played guitar, while her mother sang backing vocals. The Judds' single "Let Me Tell You About Love" became their 14th and final song to hit No. 1 on the U.S. country chart, capping an extraordinary decade in which they were perhaps the biggest act in all of country music.

Their Judds' hot streak came to a sudden and shocking end in 1991, however, when Naomi Judd retired due to complications from Hepatitis C, a debilitating chronic liver ailment that threatened to take her life. Naomi Judd survived this dangerous period and eventually returned to a more robust state of health, but The Judds' reign as the queens of country music was over.

Wynonna Judd moved on to start her solo career. In 1992, she released her debut solo

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