Ashley Judd (born Ashley Tyler Ciminella; April 19, 1968) is an American actress and political activist. She grew up in a family of successful performing artists as the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd and the sister of Wynonna Judd. While she is best known for an ongoing acting career spanning more than two decades, she has increasingly become involved in global humanitarian efforts and political activism. Actress Ashley Judd was just one of many celebrities joining the hundreds of thousands crowding Washington, D.C. Saturday for the Women's March but she left a singular impression with a beat poetry reading that harshly condemned new President Donald Trump.Judd has had leading roles in such films as Ruby in Paradise (1993), Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996), Kiss the Girls (1997), Double Jeopardy (1999), Where the Heart Is (2000), High Crimes (2002), De-Lovely (2004), Bug (2006), Dolphin Tale (2011), Divergent (2014), Dolphin Tale 2 (2014), and Insurgent (2015). She starred as Rebecca Winstone in the 2012 television series Missing, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. In 2010, she earned a one-year mid-career master's degree in public administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She is a well known Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball fan, being present at most games.
Ashley Judd's humanitarian work has revolved around AIDS. Judd has travelled with YouthAIDS to places affected by illness and poverty such as Cambodia, Kenya, Rwanda, and many others. Inspired by her travels, which allowed her to witness the life of the poor and uneducated, she has since become an advocate for preventing poverty and promoting awareness internationally. She has met with political and religious leaders, heads of states, diplomats, and leaders on behalf of the deprived to convey the message to those who have the power to bring about political and social change. Judd has also narrated three documentaries for YouthAIDS which aired internationally on the Discovery Channel, in National Geographic, and on VH1.In 2011, she joined the Leadership Council of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). Other organizations Judd has been involved with include Women for Women International and Equality Now, along with other non-governmental organizations that direct attention to social, educational, health, economic, cultural and financial funding of the unfortunate. Judd is active on the speakers' circuit, giving speeches about humanitarian topics. Actress Ashley Judd appears at a news conference at United Nations headquarters upon her appointment as the U.N. Population Fund Goodwill Ambassador in New York, March 15, 2016.
