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Ashley Judd is an American actress, political activist and sought after public speaker, famous for her reel world roles as Ruby in “Ruby in Paradise” with Todd Field, Elizabeth in “Double Jeopardy” with Tommy Lee Jones, and Rebecca Winstone in ABC series “Missing.” Here are 50 interesting facts about the actress -
- Ashley Tyler Ciminella was born on April 19, 1968 in Grenada Hills, California.
- Judd was born to Naomi Judd and Michael Charles Ciminella. Her father is an analyst with the horseracing industry and her mother a singer and a motivational speaker.
- Her paternal grandfather was of Sicilian descent and her paternal grandmother was descendent of William Brewster.
- She has an elder sister named Wynonna Judd, a singer famous for her singles—”She Is His Only Need”, “I Saw the Light,” “No One Else on Earth” and “My Strongest Weakness.”
- After her parents divorced in 1972, she moved in with her mother.
- She lives in Tennessee and Kentucky, and loves to spend time in Scotland.
- She graduated from University of Kentucky, majoring in French apart from studying Anthropology, History, Theater and Women’s studies.
- Judd is a great supporter of Kentucky sports team, mainly Basketball, Football and Ice Hockey. She used to contribute to the local news paper.
- Her favorite hobbies are cooking and gardening and she also practices Yoga.
- After college she joined acting school “Playhouse West” to learn acting from “Robert Carnegie.”
- As a teenager she tried modeling in Japan and also worked as a hostess in “The Ivy Restaurant” known to be frequented by celebrities.
- She even worked as cleaner, cleaning her mother’s and sister’s tour bus for $10 a day.
- Although she was selected to join the most prestigious honor society “Phi Beta Kappa” she preferred to join “Peace Corp,” a voluntary program run by U.S Government.
- Judd began her acting from 1991 television science fiction series, Star Trek “Darmok” and “The Game”.
- In-between a recurring role in NBC drama “Sisters,” Judd made her film debut with a small role in 1992 “Kuffs”.
- Judd’s first lead cast was in the film “Ruby in Paradise” in 1993, which won Grand jury prize in the “Sundance Film Festival”.
- In the year 1993, her popularity grew with films such as “Heat,” “Smoke” and “The Passion of Darkly Noon”.
- She was in the centerfold of “Playboy” magazine’s first issue.
- Initially she was cast in the controversial film “Natural Born Killer,” but later her scene was deleted.
- Judd established herself as a leading female cast after box office success, such as “Kiss the Girls” and “Double Jeopardy”.
- She got the role after Jodie Foster, Michelle Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan and Brook Shield declined the role of Libby in the film.
- In 1998, Judd was nominated in “Best Supporting Actress” category in the “Satellite Awards” for the film “Kiss the Girls”.
- Judd married Scottish racing driver “Dario Franchitti” at Skibo Castle, Scotland on December 2001. They are divorced now.
- Judd was nominated for “Golden Globe” in 2004, for her performance in “De-Lovely” a film on biography of “Cole Porter” a composer and song writer.
- Judd in her desire to portray the role of Linda in the film “De-Lovely” lowered her usual salary.
- Judd starred in the film “Twisted” in 2004, which happens to be her major film in lead cast. The film received worst review from the critics.
- Ashley was said to have been suggested for the “Worst Actress” award category for the movie, though she did not receive any nominations.
- She was considered for the role of Catwoman in the movie “Catwoman.” She turned down the offer as she was cast as “Maggie” in Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” on Broadway, at the same time.
- Judd was in tie-up with clothing retailers “Goody’s” for release of fashion clothing on Judd. It didn’t materialize as the store was declared bankrupt.
- She had co-starred with “Morgan Freeman” in four films.
- Judd is the iconic spokesmodel for cosmetic brand “Estée Lauder” and for “Hans Stern” jewelers.
- She was treated for depression and insomnia in February 2006.
- She penned her memoir titled “All that is Bitter and Sweet” released it in April 2011.
- She had the privilege of being the first woman to narrate the telecast of “Kentucky Derby”.
- On May 9, 2007 she completed her Bachelor’s Degree in French from Kentucky University. She was surprised when diploma certificate was presented during the “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”.
- Judd is a humanitarian and works for prevention of AIDS. She is the international ambassador of Youth AIDS.
- Judd refuses to bear child as a protest, for African children dying of starvation.
- She is striving for social change and advocating for poverty alleviation among world leaders.
- She visited India on November 2007 for HIV / AIDS relief and educational mission. She premiered a National Geography documentary titled “India’s Hidden Plague”.
- As a self proclaimed feminist, she is working towards economic empowerment of women. She has joined leadership council of the ”International Center for Research on Women” (ICRW).
- On June 03, 2008 she addressed the United Nation General Assembly on Human Rights.
- She campaigned for “Barack Obama’s” presidency in 2008.
- She works for the cause of wildlife preservation and appeared in an environmental ad campaign for “Defender of Wildlife Action Fund”.
- For her work with “Population Service International” she was honored with “USA Today Hollywood Hero” on November 10, 2009.
- On September 8, 2010 CNN carried an interview of Judd’s effort to bring awareness about “Conflict Minerals” in Republic of Congo.
- In 2012 Democratic National Convention, Judd represented as Tennessee delegate endorsing President Barack Obama’s re-election.
- Judd was awarded honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Union College, Kentucky.
- As a sought after public speaker, Judd address the social causes such as Women’s equality, education, health and culture.
- In the year 2011, she landed a role in the movie “Flypaper” with Patrick Dempsey as her co-star. Following this, she was cast as Rebecca Winstone on the “Missing” series from ABC the very next year.
- In 2014, she played the role of Natalie Prior in “Divergent,” which is one of her well-known characters. She also starred in the movie’s sequel – “The Divergent Series: Insurgent,” in the year 2015, reprising her role as Natalie.
