She was born Diana Ellen Judd to Charles Glen Judd and his wife Pauline (Oliver) Judd on January 11, 1946, in Ashland, Kentucky. Her father owned a gas station; her mother started out as a homemaker but later became a riverboat cook. Her first child, Christina Ciminella (later Wynonna Judd), was born when she was only 18. After the birth of her daughter Ashley (April 1968, who later became a film and stage actress) and the end of her marriage to Michael Ciminella, Judd brought up both daughters as a single parent, first going to nursing school but later beginning a successful singing career with daughter Wynonna.

Her second marriage was on May 6, 1989, to Larry Strickland of the Palmetto State Quartet. They have no children together.
With her daughter, Wynonna Judd, Naomi formed the highly successful singing duo known as The Judds.

As country music's most famous mother–daughter team, The Judds scored twenty top-10 hits (including fifteen #1s) and went undefeated for eight consecutive years at all three major country music awards shows. In addition, the duo won five Grammy Awards and a vast array of other awards and honors. As a songwriter, Naomi also won a Grammy for Country Song of the Year with the Judds' smash hit "Love Can Build a Bridge".
In 1991, after selling more than 20 million albums and videos in seven years and at the pinnacle of their career, The Judds' reign came to an abrupt end because Naomi was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, a potentially fatal chronic liver disease that forced her retirement. Their duet ended on a high note when their "Farewell" tour was the top grossing act and their farewell concert was the most successful musical event in cable pay-per-view history.

In 1991, Naomi created the Naomi Judd Education and Research Fund to raise awareness of the deadly Hepatitis C virus, and uses the strength of her own experiences as spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation