Today's Birthday April 19: US actress Ashley Judd (1968).
Ashley Judd became a star after appearing in a number of Hollywood thrillers.
Born Ashley Tyler Ciminella on April 19, 1968, in Granada Hills, California, Judd attended 12 schools in 13 years before studying French at the University of Kentucky.
She is the daughter of country singer Naomi Judd and half-sister to Wynonna Judd.
After starting off in television, Ashley Judd made her film debut in 1992 with a small part in Kuffs. That was followed by a major role in Ruby In Paradise (1993).
In 1994 she was cast in Natural Born Killers, but all her scenes were cut from the final version because they were too violent.
In the mid-1990s she starred in a number of successful thrillers including Smoke (1995), Heat (1995) and A Time to Kill (1996).
By the end of the decade she was at the peak of her career, playing leads in the hit movies Kiss The Girls (1997) and Double Jeopardy (1999).
In 2000 Judd moved away from thrillers, playing a mentor to a pregnant girl in Where The Heart Is.
After marrying Scottish Indy Racing League driver Dario Franchitti in 2001, Judd took a two-year break from acting.
She returned in 2004 to star in the films Twisted and De-Lovely.
This year she starred in the sci-fi movie Divergent, and has roles in three more films due to be released in 2014.
Judd and Franchitti, who have no children, officially announced their separation in early 2013 but have reportedly reunited.
Judd, a supporter of humanitarian causes, has said she would not have children while so many are starving in the developing world.
