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Ashley Judd, born Ashley Tyler Ciminella, was born on the 19th of April 1968 in California. Her father, Michael Ciminella, was a marketing analyst and her mother is the famous country singer Naomi Judd. Another famous member of her family is her sister Wynonna, who is also a famous country singer like their mother.

When Ashley was born her mother was her mother was still a nurse and the family was living in poverty. Her parents divorced in 1972 prompting her mother to move them to her hometown Kentucky after two years of struggle following the divorce. In Kentucky they lived without the comforts of electricity and even running water.

Ashley was raised as a Baptist, following her mother’s religion. She attended more than ten different schools before finishing college. She graduated at the University of Kentucky majoring in French and minored in art history, women’s studies, theatre and anthropology. During school breaks she modeled in Japan. She also studied under Robert Carnegie at the Playhouse West while working as a waitress and living with her sister in Malibu.

She first appeared in television as a Starfleet officer in 1991’s Star Trek: The Next Generation. Then from 1991 to 1994 she had a recurring role in the series Sisters. Her first feature film is in Kuffs in 1992. This was followed by an independent film Ruby in Paradise. In 1994 she landed a role in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers. She further gained stardom for her roles in Heat, The Passion of Darkly Noon and Heat.

She was already a lead star by the end of the decade. Her lead roles included Kiss the Girl which was released in 1997 and Double Jeopardy which was released in 1999. In 2001 she appeared in Someone Like You and the following year in High Crimes. Both had mixed reviews and only earned moderately. Then in 2004 she played Cole Porter in De-Lovely with Kevin Kline.

Estee Lauder made her the face of American Beauty, the line is sold exclusively at Kohl and H. Stern. Goody also made a line of clothing featuring her for the collection.

Ashley dated several celebrities including baseball star Brady Anderson, Robert De Niro, Lyle Lovett, Matthew McConaughey and Michael Bolton. She is now married to Dario Franchitti, the Indianapolis 500 2007 champion. She is very active in political and social causes and was appointed Global Ambassador for YouthAIDS. She speaks for AID prevention and support for treatment.