Naomi Judd Has Died at the Age of 76

Country Music star Naomi Judd has died at the age of 76.

On Saturday, The Associated Press reported that her daughters, actress Ashley Judd and singer Wynona Judd, released this statement on their mother’s death:

“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the statement said. “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.” The statement did not elaborate further.

The Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Naomi Judd was a beloved icon of country music. A native of Kentucky, she was a resident of Williamson County, Tennessee, where she was often seen in public at restaurants and local events.

UPDATE: NewsChannel 5 reported at 2:58 pm on Saturday that the country music star took her own life, but that assertion was removed from the current version of the story, which was updated at 7:55 pm on Saturday.

According the website NaomiJudd.com:

Hailing from the Appalachian​ ​foothills​ ​of Ashland, Ky., mother​ ​and​ ​daughter​ duo, The Judds, were first discovered by RCA​ ​label​ ​head​ ​Joe​ ​Galante​ ​in​ ​1983 ​after landing a spot on​ ​WSM-TV’s​ “​The​ ​Ralph​ ​Emery Show.”

They​ ​made​ ​their​ ​chart​ ​debut​ ​by​ ​the​ ​end​ ​of​ ​the​ ​year​ ​with​ ​“Had​ ​A​ ​Dream​ ​(For​ ​The​ ​Heart),” and​ ​the​ ​two​ ​were​ ​on​ ​their​ ​way​ ​to​becoming one of the best-selling duos of all time.

For​ ​the​ ​rest​ ​of​ ​the​ ​1980’s,​ ​each​ ​single​ ​from​ ​The​ ​Judds​ ​released​ ​by​ ​RCA​ ​went​ ​to​ ​the Billboard​ ​Top 10,​ ​with​ ​14 hits ​going​ ​all​ ​the​ ​way​ ​to​ ​number​ ​one.​ The Judds swept the CMA’s Vocal Group/Duo category from 1985 to 1991 and garnered six GRAMMY® Awards.

The​y embarked​ ​on​ ​their​ ​“Farewell​ ​Tour”​ ​in​ ​1991 ​after​ ​Naomi’s​ ​diagnosis​ ​of​ ​Hepatitis C​ ​forced​ ​her​ ​to​ ​retire​ ​from​ ​the​ ​road.​ ​Naomi​ ​focused​ ​on​ ​her​ ​health,​ ​beating​ ​the​ ​disease and wrote​ ​several​ ​New​ ​York​ ​Times​ ​best-selling​ ​books.

In 2016, Judd’s memoir, River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope was published.

The Daily Mail reported on Sunday that, “Grammy-winning singer Naomi Judd, who died at the age of 76 on Saturday, admitted to undergoing electro-shock therapy and considered suicide in recent years.”

“Judd openly discussed her history of depression,” Bethany Bowman, who reports on entertainment and county music for The Tennessee Star, said.

“Naomi Judd is an American success story rising from poverty to riches and fame through timeless music that crossed genres and helped put country music on the map. She left her career at the height of success 31 years ago, after contracting hepatitis.”

This is a developing story.

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Photo “Naomi Judd” by State Farm CC2.0.

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