Ashley Judd to Marry Racecar Driver
Dec. 12, 2001 -- What's good enough for Madonna apparently is good enough for Ashley Judd. The Double Jeopardy star will marry racecar driver Dario Franchitti today — reportedly in the same Scottish castle where the Material Mom walked down the aisle last year.
The exact location of the nuptials has been kept a secret, but the banns were posted in the Scottish town of Durnoch. That's fueled speculation that the ceremony is being held at nearby Skibo Castle, the site of Madonna's wedding last December to British director Guy Ritchie.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Sandra Bullock, Edward Norton, and husband and wife Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are said to be among the guests. But details are being kept under such tight wrap that it's not even clear whether the bride's mother and sister, Naomi and Wynonna Judd, will be there.
'I'm Not Telling'
Judd, 32, has fought hard to keep details of her romance with Franchitti, a Scot, private. In the summer of 2000, at the premiere of X-Men, ABCNEWS Radio asked her if she had set a wedding date. She answered no.
"And if I did, I sure wouldn't tell you," she added. "But thanks for asking, I guess."
Skibo Chief Executive Maryann Lutyens declined to comment, stressing the venue's reputation for maintaining the privacy of its clients
"The wedding is today," local registrar Lesley Conner told Reuters news service. She declined to say where the marriage was to take place, but added: "I am not performing the ceremony, so it will be a religious ceremony."
Judd was once overshadowed by the fame of her mother and sister. Naomi, once a single mother on welfare, moved her daughters from California to Kentucky and, with Wynonna, launched the hit country music act The Judds. When Naomi was forced to retire due to her struggle with hepatitis C, Wynonna went on to build a smash solo career.
Ashley, the younger sister, turned to acting instead of music. After a stint on the TV series Sisters, she broke into films. In addition to Double Jeopardy, her movies include Heat, Kiss the Girls and Someone Like You. ABCNEWS Radio contributed to this report.