Celebrity Details:
Although Big is the daughter of Naomi Judd and half-sister of Wynonna -- the mother and daughter group that make up the country duet the Judds -- it's apparent that Ashley has managed to make a successful name for herself with acting. With a blockbuster and big Hollywood roles under her belt, the acting Judd is only at the beginning of what can be a huge movie career.
Things weren't always so peachy for the youngest Judd, living in several rundown Kentucky homes with her dirt-poor family. Even without the comforts of what can be considered the bare necessities, such as running water, electricity, or a telephone, the Judd girls still found ways to keep themselves entertained. While Wynonna and her mother sang on the front porch, Ashley would immerse herself in books, acting out the different characters in the stories. Ashley attended 12 schools in 13 years, until her sister and mother made it big in the country music industry.
When Judd graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1990, she initially thought of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa. Her sister Wynonna advised her to pursue an acting career, and next thing Ashley knew, she was in LA, trying out her luck as an actress. She didn't need much luck, since the first agency she waltzed into immediately signed her. The same thing happened with her first audition; she got the part in the movie Kuffs, albeit not the part she was originally aiming for.
An eighth generation Eastern Kentuckian, Big first proved her acting abilities in her debut feature film role as Ruby Lee Gissing in Victor Nunez' internationally acclaimed "Ruby In Paradise." Cominup Ashley's hot new thriller (due February 27, 2004)
Ashley has been busy recently: she married her prince, Dario Franchitti, in December 2001, had three films out in 2002. She has two more expected in 2004, in addition to completing her well-received return to Broadway in February 2004. If you get the chance, go see her moving performance as Maggie the Cat in Tennessee Williams', "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." The play is packing houses and shattering records at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway, no doubt due to Ashley's steamy performance and the captivating cast including Jason Patric, Ned Beatty and the wonderful Margo Martindale!
Ashley spent most of 2002 in the San Francisco area, shooting the new film "Twisted" with Andy Garcia and Samuel L. Jackson (due in theatres in February 2004). In 2003, she also filmed "The Music Man" with Kevin Kline in Europe. She had three films debuting in 2002: "High Crimes" with Morgan Freeman, "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" with Sandra Bullock (Friend Oprah called it her best performance to date!) and the Oscar winning "Frida" are all now on home video and DVD everywhere!
Big spent the dog days of summer of 2000 in New York filming "Someone Like You" with Greg Kinnear ("As Good As It Gets"). The movie is now on DVD and home video and debuted nationally on March 30, 2001, with an estimated $10 million dollar take on the first two days alone!
On the first day of production of the romantic comedy, Ashley had to eat nearly six hot dogs (vegetarian of course!), one for each take, while filming a scene in Manhattan's Washington Square Park. The next day's shoot had Ashley and Greg smooching on the streets of New York's fancy SoHo neighborhod. The film is based upon Laura Zigman's best selling 1998 novel, "Animal Husbandry," and co-stars Marisa Tomei (Academy Award winner for "My Cousin Vinny"), Ellen Barkin ("The Big Easy") and Hugh Jackson ("X-Men"). Ashley portrays the unsubtly named Jane Goodale, a TV talent broker who gets her heart broken by her producer boyfriend and becomes engrossed in her research of comparing the behavior of human men to that of cows. As with any and all things Judd, it is bound to be spectacular!
Ashley's 1999 blockbuster hit "Double Jeopardy," with Tommy Lee Jones is now available on home video. In fact, the thriller once again showed its winning ways by debuting at the top of video release chart! The film was produced by Leonard Goldberg for Paramount Pictures and was the hit of the fall and now a cult classic on home video and DVD. It outgrossed big movies from Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt combined! In the action-packed film shot primarily in Canada, Ashley portrays a woman wrongly accused and imprisoned for her husband's murder who, in turn, must fight to retain custody of her son. The film crossed the rare feat by grossing more than $100 million!
Ashley's video thriller "Eye of the Beholder" with Ewan McGregor (from "Stars Wars: The Phantom Menace") debuted at #1 in January 2000, on Superbowl Sunday. "Eye of the Beholder" is an adaption of the Marc Behm novel and was directed by Stephan Elliot, known for his cult classic, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". It's a role like no other...don't miss it!
Also in video stores everywhere is "Where the Heart Is" starring Natalie Portman (also from "Star Wars"), Stockard Channing ("Grease"), Sally Field ("Steel Magnolias") and Joan Cusack ("In and Out"). Directed by Matt Williams (co-creator of "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement") and adapted from the Oprah Book Club selection of the same name, Ashley (this time playing the mother of four!) is once again rumored to steal the show with her performance. Says Portman of the film, "It had a very sweet tone to it. It was unabashedly well-meaning. There's no cynicism, nothing edgy about it."
In 1998, Ashley was in the Walt Disney Pictures hit, "Simon Birch," in which she stars opposite Oliver Platt, Ian Smith and Joseph Mazzello. The film, directed by Mark Steven Johnson, is based on the John Irving novel, A Prayer for Owen Meaney. The story follows one year in the lives of two best friends -- Simon and Joe-- whose relationship takes an unexpected turn when Simon hits a foul ball, accidentally killing Joe's mother, leading each boy to discover his destiny. The film is also available for rental at your local video store.
In 1997, Judd also starred opposite Morgan Freeman in Paramount Pictures box-office hit "Kiss The Girls" as well as MGM's "The Locusts," in which she co-starred opposite Vince Vaughn and Kate Capshaw. Judd was also seen in Michael Mann's "Heat," for which she won critical acclaim opposite Robert DeNiro, AL Pacino and Val Kilmer. In the summer of 1996, she appeared in Joel Schumacher's "A Time To Kill," opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey. In late 1996, she was starring opposite Luke Perry in John McNaughton's "Normal Life," for which she received critical acclaim.
Also in 1996, Judd received an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Norma Jean in HBO's "Norma Jean & Marilyn."
Judd made her debut theatre 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 Theatre Company, while simultaneously filming a supporting role in the Miramax Film "Smoke," portraying the daughter of Harvey Keitel and Stockard Channing. A Phi Beta Kappa and Honors Program student of the University of Kentucky with a major in French and four minors, Judd has studied the Meisner technique in acting for several years. |
