In this unauthorized biography, veteran author and reporter James Dickerson recounts her difficult childhood in Kentucky, her big-screen breakthrough in the 1993 movie Ruby in Paradise, her ongoing series of starring roles and her off-screen romances with the likes of actor Robert DeNiro, singer Michael Bolton and racecar driver Dario Fanchitti.

Discover the inside story of this rare beauty, who has starred in Heat, Eye of the Beholder, Double Jeopardy and Kiss the Girls. She most recently teamed up again with Kiss the Girls costar Morgan Freeman for the movie High Crimes.

Includes an 8-page color section.

Like many of Ashley's fans, I knew of her famous family ties with her mother Naomi and her sister Wynonna, as the award winning country duo "The Judds".

Ashley's story of isolation and abandonment, in both her personal and professional life, is revealed in stark reality to a public relations, glossy magazine article.

James has most effectively written about the struggle and iron-clad determination that Ashley has imbedded in her soul and psyche. She is a true perfectionist, down to the last detail.

This is not simply a story being told for print. Page by page it peels through the layers of an outstanding actress and individual, to reveal the pearl within the hard shell. Priceless and demanded!

James, I'm honoured that you asked me to review this for you. I can't wait for the next one:) Thank you! Diana


Ashley the Great   September 19, 2002
14 out of 16 found this review helpful

When you see a book written by James Dickerson, you'd better roll up your sleeves . The veteran reporter/author leaves no stone unturned when he takes on a subject and he's picked a great one to follow his book about Natalie Portman.

Here he checks out Ashley Judd from all angles and perspectives and does so in a fair, thorough and neat manner. It's also a flowing, enjoyable read thanks to his writing skills as he manages to weave Ashley's biography, her life and times, in and around her famous mother and sister -- Wynonna and Naomi Judd.

Dickerson likes battlers and he's got one here. Despite the success of her mom and sister, Ashley's life has not been an easy one by any means and we're swept into the passions and obstacles that helped give us this remarkable actress. We're left with the impression that Ashley Judd is just now starting to come into her own. Even though she's well-established as an actress her best work my be yet to come.

Photos enhance this book which is beautifully packaged and the cover draws you into her life. Her fans, new and old, will not want to miss this one and neither will the fans of the Judds.