Wynonna Judd‘s life has been intricately woven with the enduring threads of family, both in her personal and professional spheres. Her children, Elijah and Grace Pauline, have held a prominent place in this narrative.
Commencing her musical journey alongside her late mother, Naomi Judd, in the early 1980s as part of The Judds, Wynonna later pursued a solo career. In tandem with her evolving solo work in the early 1990s, she embraced motherhood with her first husband, Arch Kelley III. Despite the brevity of their two-year marriage, it yielded two children: Elijah and Grace Pauline.
Adapting swiftly to her role as a mother, Wynonna underwent a profound shift in perspective, as revealed in a 1997 interview with the Tampa Bay Times. She articulated a newfound sense of self-assurance, expressing, “I don’t really give a rat’s butt about what the world thinks. I used to do anything for acceptance. Now as a mother, I stand there and say, ‘Here’s who I am; take me as I am.’ ”
Distinguishing her identity from the spotlight, she emphasized her role as a mother, stating, “Lots of singers, their identity is focused on the stage. Now I have a separate identity from that stage. I come home, and I’m a mama. There’s a confidence that a lot of people have commented on lately. You can lose 50 pounds or buy a great car and still be the same desperate person. It comes from inside. The spirit doesn’t get fed enough in this business. I’ll find it through my babies and God, not on the charts.“
Wynonna’s commitment to motherhood remained unswerving amid shifts in her career and personal life. Following her separation from her second husband, D. R. Roach, in 2007, she prioritized her children in an interview with Ladies Home Journal, stating, “I am a mother first and foremost. I’m now focused on saving myself and the children. It is hard to detach overnight. I’m healing in my own time. And so I do wear my ring. And I think what I’m teaching my kids is, ‘This happened. This is where Mom is right now. And there’s always hope.’ ”
Continue reading to discover further insights into the lives of Wynonna Judd’s two children, Elijah and Grace Pauline.
