Famed country singer and television star Naomi Judd, the matriarch of the country music duo the Judds and mother to singer Wynonna Judd and actress Ashley Judd, has died at the age of 76.
No cause of death was immediately given, but in a joint statement to the Associated Press from her daughters their mother’s death was attributed to “the disease of mental illness”. Naomi Judd’s publicist says her family has requested privacy during this time.
The announcement came the day before the Judds were set to be formally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame at a medallion ceremony in Nashville. The Judds sang on the CMT Music Awards telecast and walked the red carpet just this month.
In the 1980s, the Judds had an unbroken string of eight straight No. 1 country singles while Naomi Judd became a popular television personality as a judge on “Star Search” leading to her getting her own talk show along with appearing on other shows from “My Cooking Rules” to movies like “More American Graffiti”.
Source: Variety
