Ashley Judd marks 1st birthday since mom Naomi's death, reflects on 'memories'
Ashley Judd's birthday this year is a little bittersweet, as it is her first without her mother, Naomi Judd.
"My birthday. Everyone who loves me is making it as soft (cake in bed) and precious as they can, as my mind can't help but calculate that on my last birthday, Mom was a scant 11 days from her death by crushing suicide," the actress wrote on Instagram on April 19, her 55th birthday.
She added, "I think of her constantly."
Naomi Judd died April 30, 2022, at the age of 76, leaving behind daughters Ashley and Wynonna Judd, the latter of whom she performed with as part of the country music duo The Judds.
The "Double Jeopardy" actress noted that she was looking over her baby announcement -- pictured in her post -- and recalled how each year on her birthday her mother would recount the day of her birth, sharing "all the details that were so precious to her."
"I hope all parents do that for their children on their birthdays," she wrote.
Ashley Judd then reflected on some happier memories she had of her birthday before turning to last year's celebration, which she said "was more muted, being so close to her end."
She recalled how her mother came over with "Pop" and they shared a meal together, and how much love she felt radiating from her mother "in spite of being weak and preoccupied with the disease that was eating at her."
"I know that today, too, even as she breathes in the infinite mercy of God," the "Kiss the Girls" actress wrote. "Thank you, Mom, for all my birthdays so far, and for celebrating me: for holding me at bedtime and whispering in my ear, 'Ashley, you are an extraordinary woman,' and letting me be your Sweetpea."
"What more does a birthday girl need, than memories of a mother like that?" she concluded.
Referencing the second photo in her post, an unfiltered image of her holding a cake in bed, she added, "And this is how she saw and loved me, first awake, hair never brushed, ready to share our dreams. For you, Mom. For you."
