Ashley Tyler Ciminella aka Ashley biography

Real biography: Introduction

Actress Ashley Judd is best known for two things (no, not those two things): being a member of a famous country-singing family, and starring in bad thrillers, usually alongside Morgan Freeman.

Life Story

Born in Granada Hills, California, the daughter of nurse-turned-singer Naomi Judd and horseracing marketer Michael Ciminella, Jr., Ashley moved with her mother to Kentucky after her parents divorced. Although Naomi and Ashley’s half-sister, Wynonna, would become a hugely successful mother-daughter country-singing force, Ashley actually spent much of her youth in poverty, often living without running water, electricity or a telephone. (Insert your own Kentucky joke here.) After four years at the University of Kentucky, where she majored in French and minored in half the curriculum, including theater, Ashley hopped in the car and headed to Hollywood without a degree. Between shifts as a waitress at celeb-hotspot The Ivy, Ashley won smaller parts on Star Trek: The Next Generation (she totally kissed Wil Wheaton!) and the Christian Slater movie Kuffs (Milla Jovovich). From there, she had a recurring role on the TV drama Sisters (along with a young George Clooney), she made an impression on Robert De Niro in Heat (Natalie Portman), and she played young Marilyn Monroe—without clothing, in some scenes—in Norma Jean & Marilyn.Then came all those thrillers: Kiss the Girls (with Morgan Freeman), Double Jeopardy, High Crimes (with Morgan Freeman…and Amanda Peet) and Twisted. Ashley also starred opposite Hugh Jackman in Someone Like You…(Marisa Tomei, Ellen Barkin), and she played Cole Porter’s muse in De-Lovely (Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette).Looking ahead, she’ll be attending plenty of races to watch her husband, 2007 Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti, and she’ll star with Goran Visnjic (remember him?) in Helen, and with Harrison Ford, Sean Penn and Summer Bishil in Crossing Over—which is what we’ll be doing if we ever find ourselves on the opposite side of the street as Ashley.