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Naomi Judd, best known as part of the iconic country duo The Judds, has sadly passed at age 76.
Naomi’s daughters, Ashley Judd and Wynonna Judd, announced her passing in a statement on Saturday. “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness. We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public,” the statement read. “We are in unknown territory.”
The statement did not indicate an exact cause of passing or elaborate further.
Naomi’s husband of 32 years, Larry Strickland, released an additional statement. “Naomi Judd’s family request privacy during this heartbreaking time. No additional information will be released at this time.”
Judd has opened up in the past about her mental health struggles, and especially so in her 2016 book, River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope. “Nobody can understand it unless you’ve been there,” the singer told PEOPLE at the time.
“Think of your very worst day of your whole life – someone passed away, you lost your job, you found out you were being betrayed, that your child had a rare disease – you can take all of those at once and put them together and that’s what depression feels like.”
Naomi was one half of the mother-daughter duo The Judds, who had a decades-long career together and fourteen No.1 songs. A few of their popular hits include “Mama He’s Crazy,” “Why Not Me,” “Girls Night Out,” “Rockin’ with the Rhythm of the Rain,” and “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days).”
Olivia Di Pede
Olivia loves all things fashion, beauty, and entertainment. In her free time, she can be found taking yoga classes, reading thriller novels, and styling outfits on Instagram.