From humble beginnings as a single Mom in a small Kentucky town to her meteoric rise as a country music superstar and American icon, Naomi Judd's incredible lifelong journey is an inspiring story of overcoming the odds through optimism and hard work.
Naomi Judd was first known to the world as half of country music's mother/daughter duo, The Judds. Reaching unprecedented success throughout the 80's and 90's, The Judds sold 20 million records, scored fifteen #1 hits and received over sixty industry awards. At the pinnacle of their career, Naomi was stricken with Hepatitis C, a potentially fatal chronic liver disease – incurred from an infected needle when she worked as a registered nurse – cutting short her musical career and forcing her into retirement to battle the disease. The Judds bid farewell to the fans in 1991, but Naomi did not step out of the public spotlight for long.
An accomplished author, her self-penned bestseller, Naomi’s Breakthrough Guide, 20 Choices to Transform Your Life, remained on The New York Times Bestseller List for over eight weeks. Her most recent book, Naomi’s Guide to Aging Gratefully, provides a message of empowerment to the millions of Baby Boomers in this country and quickly became a bestseller as well.
Judd served as spokesperson for Partners Against Pain, Post Cereal’s “Heart Health” campaign, Prilosec and AARP. She appeared with her daughter Wynonna in the television reality series The Judds, in January 2011 on Oprah’s O.W.N. network. In addition, Naomi was a radio host with her six-week SiriusXM radio series Think Twice, which launched nationwide in June 2012. She also found time to add film projects to her list of accomplishments, as she shot The Nearlyweds in Vancouver in June 2012 for the Hallmark Channel and An Evergreen Christmas, a feature film in February 2013.
Judd’s humanitarian efforts include involvement with River Cities Harvest, the Saint Louis University Liver Center, M.A.D.D., Parents Television Council, Make-A-Difference Day, Women’s World Peace Initiative and the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Judd also created the July 4th Judd’s Annual Food Drive to benefit families of Appalachia.
Today, Judd is a hepatitis C survivor and the first national spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation. She uses her fame, experience as a former nurse and passion for people to educate audiences about the scientific link between mind, body and spirit in the healing process. Judd helps to bridge the conversation between academia, medical communities and the everyday person about health- and family-related issues.