Current:Home > MyHow Wynonna Judd Is "Turning My Pain Into Purpose" After Mom Naomi Judd's Death -Thrive Financial Network
How Wynonna Judd Is "Turning My Pain Into Purpose" After Mom Naomi Judd's Death
View
Date:2025-04-27 14:32:29
Wynonna Judd saw more than just light at the 2023 People's Choice Country Awards.
The "No One Else On Earth" singer is being honored with the first-ever Country Champion Award for both her music and philanthropic work at the Sept. 28 ceremony, an achievement she said that hits close to home. As Wynonna exclusively shared with E! News on the red carpet, "It means that my son and daughter realize how hard I've work and it pays off." (See all the red carpet arrivals here.)
"It's easy to stand up here with sparkles and hair and everything grand," continued the 59-year-old, who is mom to kids Elijah, 28, and Grace, 27," but I'll go home tonight and wake up, get on a plane and fly to Denver to do one show—because that's what we do."
While the 2022 death of her mom Naomi Judd—with whom she made up the country music duo The Judds—has had a "devastating" impact on the family, Wynonna believes the singer's legacy lives on when she channels her grief into music.
"I'm turning my pain into purpose," she shared, "and I go on stage every night and I sing like it's my last show because you never know."
Wynonna is one of the two major honorees at the inaugural PCCAs, with hitmaker Toby Keith receiving the Country Icon Award.
The "I Saw the Light" artist's special recognition comes more than a year after Naomi died by suicide at 76.
Previously, Wynonna told E! News that she works hard to keep her mother's memory alive for the rest of the family, sharing, "I'm the matriarch now."
"She took us out in the woods and made us sit still in the cold and read us the Christmas story about Jesus," Wynonna recalled of her mother. "I used to complain about having to go to the bathroom because we had so much clothes on. I miss her. I'm going to miss those times. So, I'm going to do it to my grandchildren."
Though the country star admitted she was still "in pain" at the time over the tragic loss, she shared that grief has taught her to embrace life's ebbs and flows.
"If it's ebb, let it go," she explained. "If it's flow, be grateful."
See Wynonna, as well as more country music stars, at the 2023 PCCAs below.
Watch the People's Choice Country Awards tonight, Sept. 28, at 8 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.veryGood! (62)
Related
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Diddy's ex-bodyguard sues rape accuser for defamation over claims of 2001 assault
- Appeals Court Affirms Conviction of Everglades Scientist Accused of Stealing ‘Trade Secrets’
- Engines on 1.4 million Honda vehicles might fail, so US regulators open an investigation
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Singles' Day vs. Black Friday: Which Has the Best Deals for Smart Shoppers?
- Prayers and cheeseburgers? Chiefs have unlikely fuel for inexplicable run
- Bo the police K-9, who located child taken at knifepoint, wins Hero Dog Awards 2024
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- Trump breaks GOP losing streak in nation’s largest majority-Arab city with a pivotal final week
Ranking
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Is the stock market open on Veterans Day? What to know ahead of the federal holiday
- Utah AD Mark Harlan rips officials following loss to BYU, claims game was 'stolen from us'
- Arizona Supreme Court declines emergency request to extend ballot ‘curing’ deadline
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bobby Allison dies at 86
- How Jersey Shore's Sammi Sweetheart Giancola's Fiancé Justin May Supports Her on IVF Journey
- Question of a lifetime: Families prepare to confront 9/11 masterminds
Recommendation
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
2025 NFL Draft order: Updated first round picks after Week 10 games
Kalen DeBoer, Jalen Milroe save Alabama football season, as LSU's Brian Kelly goes splat
‘Heretic’ and Hugh Grant debut with $11 million, but ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ tops box office again
Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
2024 'virtually certain' to be warmest year on record, scientists say
The Cowboys, claiming to be 'all in' prior to Dak Prescott's injury, are in a rare spot: Irrelevance
Chet Holmgren injury update: Oklahoma City Thunder star suffers hip fracture