Ashley Judd is a Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actress who deftly navigates between indie gems and box office hits. A feminist and social justice humanitarian, she is the UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, advocating for the sexual and reproductive rights and health for girls and women worldwide. She has traveled to 22 countries, visiting brothels, refugee camps, hospices, and slums, learning directly from the vulnerable and resilient about male sexual violence and how to overcome gender inequality. Her New York Times bestselling book, All That Is Bitter & Sweet, chronicles these journeys.

Ashley graduated from the Honors Program at the University of Kentucky with a major in French and four minors, and earned an MPA from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Her paper, "Gender Violence: Law and Social Justice," was awarded the Dean’s Scholar Award at Harvard Law School. She has been Leader in Residence at the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard's Kennedy School.

She serves on several boards, including the International Center for Research on Women, the Rape and Incest National Network, Demand Abolition, and is Ambassador for Culture Reframed (focusing on the pubic health crisis of pornography). She is Chairperson of the Women’s Media Center Speak Project: Curbing Abuse, Expanding Freedom. Her Ted Talk about online misogyny has over two million views.

She is a sought after public speaker and frequent OpEd author, including her recent contribution to the New York Times about her beloved mother`s death by suicide and the need for privacy laws in such tragedies.

Ashley was TIME magazine’s Person of the Year in 2017 as one of the Silence Breakers. In 2019, the United Nations honored her as Global Advocate of the Year.

Ashley lives part of each year in the Central African rain forest in Democratic Republic of the Congo, where her partner has a bonobo research camp. Bonobos, our closest living relatives, are egalitarian, matriarchal, and free from male sexual violence. They give her hope.