Ashley Judd Biography

ASHLEY JUDD

Date of Birth: April 19, 1968

Growing up in Kentucky, Ashley Judd's family was dirt-poor without the comforts of electricity, running water, or a telephone. While mom Naomi and sister Wynonna sang on the front porch, Ashley generally engrossed herself in her books, pretending to be various characters.

Ashley studied French at the University of Kentucky, where she graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1990. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, she marched straight into an agency and came out signed. After her first bit part in Kuffs she landed a starring role in Ruby in Paradise, a coming-of-age film that won the Grand Jury Prize (along with Public Access) at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival; Ashley also earned an Independent Spirit Award for her portrayal of the title character.

In the summer of 1996, she appeared in A Time to Kill, opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey. Later that year, she starred opposite Luke Perry in Normal Life, for which she received critical acclaim. Also in 1996, Ashley received an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Norma Jean in HBO's Norma Jean and Marilyn.

With solid supporting performances in good movies Smoke, Heat and A Time To Kill, her big-screen profile grew ever larger in 1997, with a starring turn opposite Morgan Freeman in the Kiss the Girls, and one opposite Vince Vaughn in The Locusts.

Ashley made her debut theater performance in the Naked Angel's production of Busted, directed by Timothy Hutton. She then went on to star as Madge on Broadway in William Inge's Pulitzer Prize winning play, Picnic, at the Roundabout Theater Company while simultaneously filming a supporting role in Smoke, portraying the daughter of Harvey Keitel and Stockard Channing.

Ashley works non-stop, with starring roles in films such as Someone Like You (2001), Twisted (2004), Dolphin Tale (2011), Allegiant (2016), and A Dog's Way Home (2019), to name a few.

Ashley is also well-known for exposing Harvey Weinstein in an interview with The New York Times published on Oct. 5, 2017. After she shed light on his sexual exploitation of numerous actresses, including herself, it began a movement to expose all sexual predators in Hollywood.

She was marrried to Dario Franchitti, a race car driver, but they divorced in 2013.

Filmography:

A Dog's Way Home (2019)
Allegiant (2016)
Dolphin Tale (2014)
Tooth Fairy (2010)
Crossing Over (2009)
Bug (2006)
Come Early Morning (2006)
De-lovely (2004)
Twisted (2004)
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
Frida (2002)
High Crimes (2002)
Someone Like You (2001)
Where the Heart Is (2000)
Dexterity (2000)
Double Jeopardy (1999)
Eye of the Beholder (1999)
Simon Birch (1998)
Kiss the Girls (1997)
The Locusts (1997)
Normal Life (1996)
A Time to Kill (1996)
Heat (1995)
Smoke (1995)
The Passion of Darkly Noon (1995)
Ruby in Paradise (1993)
Kuffs (1992)