Naomi Judd’s Parents: Who Were They? What Happened to Them?

Lifetime’s ‘The Judd Family: Truth Be Told’ is a documentary series that shines a light upon the complex life of country star Naomi Judd, especially as her kids, Ashley and Wynonna, were always her priority. According to reports, she had a habit of being rather extravagant and colorful, but that was primarily to mask not only her worries for her kids’ success but also her childhood trauma. In fact, her eldest daughter, Wynnona, believes she died by suicide to get away from that trauma, including the one that came from her own biological parents, Charles Glen Judd and Pauline “Polly” Ruth Oliver Judd.

Polly and Charles Judd Were Reportedly Rather Hard on Their Kids

Although born in Portsmouth, Ohio, on August 13, 1927, Pauline “Polly” Oliver found herself living in Kentucky when she was a teenager, which is where she first came across Charles. Three years her elder, he seemed to be on a good path, resulting in them getting together and tying the knot when they were just teenagers – she was 14, whereas he was 17. The couple subsequently welcomed four children into their world, starting with Diana Ellen Judd (later Naomi) in 1946, followed by Glenn Brian Judd in 1948, Christopher Mark Judd in 1950, and Margaret Judd in 1952.

By the time Margaret was born, Charles was the owner-operator of a traditional gas station in their hometown of Ashland, Kentucky, whereas his wife was a full-fledged homemaker. She did work as a riverboat cook from time to time, but her priority was her family and her kids, especially as she allegedly never had much of a family growing up herself. However, according to her children’s account, Polly was more concerned about them learning to be proper and being presentable in society rather than being an affectionate or hands-on mother, which affected all of them, especially her eldest, Naomi.

As per Christopher’s account in the aforementioned series, Naomi was like a second mother to her siblings, but when she herself fell pregnant as a teenager, she returned home to find herself locked out. He mentioned that their parents kicked her out for falling pregnant out of wedlock and didn’t talk to her until their grandchild was born because they wanted to be a part of the baby’s life. It took some time for their relationship to come back to a sense of normalcy, but Naomi admittedly always knew she had disappointed her parents in more ways than one when all they wanted was to appear as the perfect family.

Naomi Judd Did Not Share a Good Relationship With Her Mother

While childhood trauma for some is abuse and pain, for others it is neglect, and that was allegedly the case for Naomi. In her 2016 memoir, ‘River of Time,’ she actually stated, “Anytime I expressed emotions, whether they were joyful, fearful, or full of hope, Mother would become annoyed. I knew she would be mad at me for causing trouble. Even at age three and a half, I understood that my mother didn’t seem interested in whatever happened to me. The one person on earth who was supposed to love and watch out for me didn’t.” Her relationship with her father wasn’t any better either, since he worked more often than not.

Naomi even details when she was abandoned at her grandparents’ home when she got chickenpox as a toddler, just so she wouldn’t affect the other kids, along with several other such incidents. She makes it clear that the lack of care, love, and affection affected her a lot, which is why she sought the same in the form of an audience as a performer as she grew older. She unfortunately ended up passing some of this down to her kids, too, but she knew in her heart that she was coming from a good place because she never wanted them to fail or experience the kinds of pains she did.

Sadly, even as Naomi became a global sensation as one half of The Judds country music duo with her eldest, her mother did not once ever say that she was proud of her or loved her. Instead, as per those close to them, Polly believed she deserved credit for her success because the duo wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for her. So, she basked in the glory of fame, had her family sign posters and autographs of those close to her, and even attended public events, all without ever explicitly showing her support for their career or asserting they were good or that she was proud of them. It hurt Naomi a lot, especially as she tried to fight for her single nod of approval until the very end.

Polly and Charles Judd Have Both Passed Away

Although it’s unclear when Polly and Charles parted ways and officially divorced, we do know they had experienced a lot of ups and downs during their marriage. After all, not long after they had kicked out their eldest for falling pregnant out of wedlock, they found out that their second-born was terminally ill – he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and passed away at the age of 17 in 1965. Nevertheless, as the years passed, they found themselves settling down with new partners, with whom they built happy, stable lives. While Polly relocated back to her home state of Ohio and tied the knot with Wilbert Reed Rideout, Charles married a fellow Kentucky native named Cynthia Anne Field Judd.

From what we can tell, Charles sadly passed away at 59 in Lexington, Kentucky, on July 4, 1984. He was laid to rest in a nearby cemetery, where his second wife joined him at age 78 on February 11, 2021. As for Polly, after years of being a homemaker, she became a sort of public figure thanks to her daughter, country singer Naomi Judd, and granddaughters, country singer Wynonna Judd and actress Ashley Judd. So, when she died in Portsmouth, Ohio, at the age of 91 on July 31, 2009, five years after her second husband’s demise at age 78 on April 14, 2004, it was national news. Unfortunately, none of their official causes of death have ever been made public, but considering their ages at the time of their passing, we believe most of them died of natural causes. All we know is that while Charles, Cynthia, and Polly are all buried at the Rose Hill Burial Park and Mausoleum in Kentucky, Wilbert is buried at the Hillcrest Cemetery in West Virginia.