One of the most important people to Wynonna Judd was her mother, Naomi. Both women formed their iconic country music duo, The Judds, in the 1980s and went on to become one of the most highly regarded collaborations in the music industry. After her mom died in 2022, Wynonna — the host of the 2023 Christmas at the Opry — and her family have had to adjust to life without Naomi. Keep reading to learn more about Wynonna’s mom, Naomi, and their family dynamic.
Naomi’s two daughters, Wynonna and Ashley Judd, both pursued careers in the entertainment business. Wynonna is known for her music, having recorded hit songs such as “I Saw the Light” and “No One Else on Earth.” Ashley, on the other hand, is an actress who is known for a variety of movies, such as Divergent, and has been nominated for an Emmy Award.
Naomi was found dead at 76 years old in April 2022 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. As her daughters later pointed out, the Country Music Hall of Fame member struggled with depression for a while.
“Today, we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” Ashley and Wynonna tweeted at the time. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”
During a subsequent interview with PEOPLE, Wynonna explained that she still struggled to come to terms with her mother’s death.
“I can’t quite wrap my head around it, and I don’t know that I ever will. That she left the way she did,” Wynonna noted. “That’s how baffling and cunning mental illness is. You have to make peace with the fact that you don’t know. Sometimes there are no answers.”
