She Was Born to a Teen Mom Who Worked Two Jobs & Kept Her Father's Identity a Secret – Now She's a Famous Singer

The star, together with her well-known mother and sister, faced real hardship before they found success. She only discovered who her real father was after he had passed away.

The celebrity's mother, Naomi, gave birth to her in May 1964 when she was a teenager. It was on the night of her graduation after reportedly being date-raped the night before her senior year started.

In an interview, Naomi revealed that a football player had learned that she was left alone at home taking care of the kids, having been the oldest in a big family.

"I got pregnant the first time I had sex. So, then three months later when I called him to say I thought I was pregnant, he said, 'Well, tough luck kiddo,'" she remembered. He hung up the phone and she never heard from him again.

Naomi's experience as a young mother left her with few options. Trying to find stability for herself and her newborn, she made a difficult choice.

"I had to marry the town jerk to have a roof and a name," said Naomi, explaining why she wed Michael C. Ciminella shortly after her daughter's birth. The couple relocated to Los Angeles, where Naomi gave birth to her second daughter, Ashley, in April 1968.

Without a diploma — having been expelled during her final year — Naomi struggled to find her footing. "I didn't have any skills," she admitted, adding that she had never held a job before.

Eventually, the marriage ended, and Naomi rented a small place near the Sunset Strip for $350 a month. It was close enough for her to walk her girls to and from school. To support her family, she later found work as a receptionist.

Life took another turn when Naomi decided to move her family to Kentucky. She and her daughters settled on a mountaintop, far removed from the comforts of city life.

There was no heat, no phone, and no TV. "We couldn't afford anything and there were no neighbors," she said. Although Ashley didn't seem to mind the situation, her older sister struggled deeply. The mother of two described her first born as "furious" and "inconsolable."

The emotional toll became more apparent as her daughter began to gain weight — something that started in childhood. "I had been so alone those years of my life my parents were divorced that I would get so hungry, I would get panicky," the star shared.

By the age of 18, food had become her escape from overwhelming isolation. She often told herself she could handle things alone, but admitted the hardest part was realizing she couldn't. She had believed she was strong enough to face it all.

At an event, standing next to her beautiful mother and sister, she looked at them and felt completely out of place — like she didn't belong, and had never truly felt that she did. That deep sense of not belonging only grew stronger after a truth came to light — one that changed everything she thought she knew about her past.

At 30 in 1993, the celebrity learned something her mother had hidden her entire life: she and Ashley did not share the same father. Discovering that secret shook her to the core. Although her first words were, "It's okay," inside, she was filled with turmoil.

It wasn't until nearly a decade later that she fully understood the weight of that moment. "I'm really angry," the public figure admitted in an interview. "Being authentic and knowing who you are, not just what you do, is sacred and I'm doing it now, and all the work is painful."

The emotional weight of that long-held secret affected not only the star but also those closest to her — especially her younger sister, who had known the truth for most of her life.

Unlike her older sibling, Ashley had been aware since childhood that she had a different father. Naomi admitted that although she didn't think about the secret every single day, there were very few days when it wasn’t present in her mind. She believed that carrying such a truth could have a lasting impact on a child.

Ashley felt that it wasn't the revelation itself that caused the most pain, but rather the years spent not knowing. Because she had known the truth, she said she was able to feel more understanding and empathy toward her sister.

She recalled reaching a point at age 26 when she thought she could no longer stay silent, though she never fully understood why she had kept it to herself for so long. The emotional complexity of the family's past continued to unfold as more pieces of the story came to light, each one shaping the star's journey in a deeply personal way.

She once shared that her father had passed away before she ever got the chance to meet him, calling it a defining part of her story. Faced with the truth, the celebrity realized she had a decision to make — whether to allow the pain to make her bitter or push her toward healing.

In time, she reached out to her half-brother, Michael, who lives in Kentucky. On his birthday, she picked up the phone and introduced herself with the words, "Hi, this is your sister," a moment she captured on tape. She mentioned that she'd incorporate it in a song to mark that connection.

By the time she reached out to her brother, Wynonna Judd's music career was already well underway — a path that had begun years earlier through a series of humble beginnings and unexpected opportunities.

She rose to fame as a country singer, performing alongside her mother, Naomi, and sister, Ashley Judd. But long before the spotlight, Wynonna's mother had dreams of becoming a nurse. During that time, the family depended on welfare to get by.

In a touching act of support, Naomi, who worked two jobs, traded her treasured buck knife to buy Wynonna her first guitar. It was on the front porch of their modest mountain home that the pair learned their first song together, "The Sweetest Gift: A Mother's Love."

After earning her nursing degree, Naomi moved the family to Nashville and worked as an ICU nurse. There, fate stepped in — Brent Mayer, the father of one of her patients, accepted a homemade cassette featuring Naomi and Wynonna singing. Impressed by their harmony, he set up a live audition at RCA Records.

That RCA audition marked the start of something remarkable. The Judds soon became country music's top duo of the 1980s, scoring 14 number one hits, five Grammys, and selling over 20 million albums.

Naomi once said they were "just very ordinary girls and something extraordinary has happened to us," while Wynonna praised her mother's big dreams and strength as a single parent.

Onstage, their voices blended like magic. Offstage, things were more complex. Wynonna, who was in a band with her mom for 18 years, admitted their relationship was filled with ups and downs — close one moment, clashing the next, but always trying to make it work. "We did pretty [expletive] good – most of the time," she said in a joint interview.

When Naomi retired after a Hepatitis C diagnosis, the tension eased, but fans still wanted them back. Their last performance came at the CMT Music Awards in April 2022 — a powerful reunion neither knew would be their final bow.

Soon after, tragedy struck. Naomi died by suicide at age 76 following a long battle with depression. For over a year, Naomi hid the depth of her depression from Wynonna, only confiding in her after a stay in a psychiatric ward. Their emotional bond, though powerful, was often overwhelming.

The doting parent kept her distance, afraid her struggles would weigh too heavily on her daughter. She once said their connection was so intense, they could fall into each other's arms in tears without saying a word, adding, "We scare each other because we can go so deep."

In the wake of Naomi's death, Wynonna shared that she received the call, went to the hospital, said her goodbye, closed her mother's eyes, and kissed her forehead. Not long after, she found herself sitting on the porch, overwhelmed, trying to grasp what came next.

In the aftermath, Wynonna slowly returned to the stage. Over a year later, she opened the CMA Awards with Jelly Roll, but fans noticed she seemed uneasy, clinging to his arm during the performance.

She later admitted she no longer felt the need to prove herself as a solo artist. With her mother gone, she now finds comfort in her fans, who feel more like family than ever before.

As she continues to navigate life after loss, Wynonna finds strength not just in her fans but also in those closest to her — especially her husband.

Her relationship with drummer Cactus Moser, whom she married in 2012 after years of friendship, has become a steady anchor. She described him as both strong and gentle, someone she feels deeply connected to and trusts fully — something she hasn't always experienced in past relationships.

Alongside her strong marriage, family remains at the heart of Wynonna's world. She has two children, Grace and Elijah, from her first marriage and has since embraced the role of grandmother.

Wynonna Judd's life has been defined by hardship, loss, and perseverance. From growing up in poverty to achieving fame with her mother as The Judds, her path has been complex.

She faced the pain of her mother’s suicide and the weight of long-held family secrets. Today, she continues to perform, supported by her husband, children, and loyal fans.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "help" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.