The girl was born Christina Claire Ciminella, but when she was 12, she changed her name. She said she made this change just because she could. Later, she confessed that the name was derived from her love for the song “Route 66.”\
The girl, seen in this throwback picture, also loved big bands, which she used to inspire her name change. Some of the big bands she listened to growing up were Flagstaff, Ariz., and Winona. Winona was the story of her life, inspiring her to change her name. The singer is now a success story as much as her beginnings were challenging.
The country star didn’t have a glamorous childhood. When she was interviewed on National Public Radio (NPR), the host, Peter Sagal, revealed that the girl grew up “dirt poor.” Sometimes, she, her sister, and her mother had no dinner. Still, she went from poverty to being a successful singer who was invited to the White House.
The girl’s first musical act was as a duo, with her mom. However, she said she had been performing all her life because growing up in Appalachia, she had nothing to do, no TV, and no telephone. Her success had her touring with her mom when she was a teenager. The two performed together for 18 years.
She noted that she was struggling to come to terms with the way her mom died.
The girl’s dream was to perform with her mom, but she never thought she’d be on a tour bus with her for ten years. The singer and her mom had a complicated relationship. She opened up about this, alongside her weight problems.
Wynonna Judd, Her Relationship with Her Mom and Weight Problems
The girl in this story is Wynonna Judd. Her mom is Naomi Judd, and her sister is Ashley Judd. Wynonna developed weight problems as a young girl just after her parents divorced. She felt so alone all those years after her parents parted ways that she would get so hungry and panicky.
Food became her comfort from loneliness, which made her weigh her heaviest ever. At 18, she earned a number-one record and toured the country, but she was still lonely. Things got worse when she and her first husband divorced. Wynonna kept thinking that she could get better by herself.
She really thought she was so strong that she could make it. However, one night at a function, she looked at her sister and mother and saw that they were so beautiful, making her feel like she didn’t belong, like she had never belonged.
When Wynonna turned 30, she finally understood these feelings after her mom confessed a secret that she had been keeping from her all her life. The secret was that she and her younger sister had different fathers.
Wynonna discovered that Naomi got pregnant when she was 17, but the man responsible didn’t stick around. Her mom married another man to give Wynonna a name. The singer didn’t know this information, but Ashley knew and never told her as she felt it wasn’t her place to say it.
Not knowing this truth messed the country star up. She found it so painful that her mom had kept this secret from her all these years. Nine years after the revelation, she was still angry and raging inside. Yet, she had to push herself to be authentic and know who she was. When she started doing this, she discovered that it was sacred but agonizing.
The singer also became committed to improving her health and losing weight alongside finding her real self. Her effort to lose weight was different from her previous attempts as she was also investigating its root cause now that she knew the truth about her father.