Grammy Winning Country Star Naomi Judd Dies At 76
Country star Naomi Judd has died at 76-years-old.
The Kentucky native was known for being a member of the beloved, Grammy Award winning country duo The Judds.
Naomi's daughters, Ashley and Wynonna Judd, confirmed the singer's tragic passing in a statement shared to the Associated Press on Saturday, April 30.
“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the statement read. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”
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Although it has only been confirmed Naomi died due to a battle with "mental illness", RadarOnline.com previously reported she had opened up on her years-long struggles with depression and suicidal ideation in her 2016 memoir, River of Time.
In an excerpt of the shocking tell-all, the singer detailed a period in her life when she contemplated death. Naomi explained she had once made the decision to throw herself off of the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge in Nashville, Tennessee in 2013.
"I knew exactly how I was going to carry out my suicide. I would drive my car to the very center, the highest point, and in one swift motion open the car door and climb over the railing," she penned the heartbreaking confessional. "I'd keep my focus on the beauty of the surrounding countryside, spread my arms out, and step off."
The Judds — a mother/daughter duo featuring Naomi and Wynonna — first shot to fame in the mid 1980s, and over the course of their booming career, they won five Grammys and had fourteen No. 1 hit singles.
Despite a period of estrangement in the '90s, the Judds' music careers seemed to be back on track earlier this year. The country group not only announced a brand new tour scheduled for this Fall, but they were also set to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, April 30.
Naomi is survived by her daughters and her husband, Larry Strickland.