NAKED TRUTH: IT'S A DREAM PART FOR JUDD.

Byline: Amy Dawes Daily News Staff Writer

In the opening scene of ``Norma Jean and Marilyn,'' HBO's intense, no-holds-barred look at what it took for the icon to fulfill her dream of stardom, beautiful 21-year-old Norma Jean Baker (Ashley Judd) leaves her pew in a country church and approaches the altar, stark naked.

It's a dream, you see - the re-enactment of a dream that the woman who became known as Marilyn Monroe frequently recounted to friends and lovers.

It's also a real attention-getter, and a bold move on the part of an emerging star who is becoming known for her daring choices.

``It didn't require more than a split second of consideration on my part, because it's intrinsic to who Norma Jean was,'' said Ashley Judd. ``She dreamt all her life about being naked in church. It seems to me it had to do with being accepted simply for who she was, without either the cloak of poverty or the glamour that was Marilyn.''

But the decision hasn't set so well with Judd's mother, former country music star Naomi Judd, who has recently voiced her displeasure in the press about her youngest daughter's cinematic nudity.

``She was simply being honest, and that's OK with me,'' said Judd, 27. ``We have an agreement in our family that everyone is entitled to her own opinions and feelings, and they are all valid.''

It isn't just the boldness of ``Norma Jean'' that has tested the patience of Mama Judd, a frequent churchgoer who's simpatico with the values of her mainstream country audience.

Since Judd made her film debut in ``Ruby in Paradise,'' co-winner of the top prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival (it also copped a special award for the actress), she has made a number of startling choices.

One was in ``Smoke,'' last year's critically acclaimed independent film in which Judd was on screen for about five minutes as a foul-mouthed, strung-out, pregnant junkie.

Another is in the upcoming ``Normal Life,'' based on the true story of a Midwest couple who committed a string of bank robberies to finance their suburban lifestyle. In the movie, due out from New Line this fall, Judd plays opposite Luke Perry as a gifted but volatile young woman who gets an erotic thrill from their dangerous high jinks. Again, nudity, strong language and wild, unbridled sexual behavior.

Again, friction with Mom.

``We are moving into a more sophisticated part of our relationship where my parents (including Naomi's husband, Larry Strickland, whom Ashley calls `Pops') need to respect my work, although they may not approve of my choices,'' Judd said back in January, when ``Normal Life'' premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. ``They're not at all pleased that I took my clothes off in `Norma Jean.' Not at all. But from my point of view, my mother has the right - and my permission - to say what she truly feels about it.''

``I made the choice very carefully,'' Judd said of ``Norma Jean.'' ``It was the right thing to do.''

Indeed, an up-and-comer like Judd could scarcely find a more provocative showcase than in HBO's startling and psychologically astute portrait of a troubled but ferociously ambitious young woman who parlayed her sex appeal into one of the silver screen's most memorable personas.

Judd, who plays the little-known Norma Jean against Sorvino's screen icon Marilyn, has what might be considered the easier task, but she makes a striking impression. Combining old-fashioned pulchitrude with the femininity and tensile strength of her commanding voice, she becomes a convincing embodiment of the young woman's consuming drive and sexual audacity.

In real life, there are limited parallels.

``There's a part of me that is extraordinarily ambitious,'' acceded Judd. ``But there is another part of me that is so filled with faith, that I don't agitate myself in that direction. Certainly I work hard, but I also trust that the work stands for itself. I'm a pretty classic case of nature vs. nurture. Part of what I have I was endowed with, and part of it was encouraged by the circumstances of my upbringing.''

As a child, Ashley saw life from both sides, first as the hillbilly daughter of struggling single mom Naomi, and then as the watcher-from-the-wings as Mom and guitar-strumming sister Wynonna took off as one of country music's most popular acts.

In her autobiography, ``Love Can Build a Bridge,'' Naomi depicts Ashley as a dream child, a studious, quietly self-possessed young woman who pursued her own interests and never complained when their meteoric music career took mother and sister away on a journey that often didn't include her.

Ashley, who graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Kentucky, said she always had ``an intuition'' that she would find her own success as an actress. ``It's actually a little surprising that I've been so on the money,'' she said.

It didn't take long. While appearing in the NBC TV series ``Sisters,'' Judd was cast in ``Ruby in Paradise,'' by highly regarded independent filmmaker Victor Nunez. Her quiet performance, which carried the film, wowed the critics at Sundance.

``The festival was the shore that rocked me forth, it was the benediction that said, `Girl, you did a good job. You haven't been fooling yourself all these years,' '' said Judd.

It was also then that she struck up her friendship with Sorvino, who was making her film debut in another standout Sundance premiere, ``Amongst Friends.''

Judd's career has been rolling along ever since. She did ``Picnic'' on Broadway, appeared in ``Heat'' opposite Val Kilmer and is prominent in ``A Time to Kill,'' the upcoming courtroom thriller based on the John Grisham novel. Currently, she's in production on the Paramount movie ``Kiss the Girls'' with Morgan Freeman.

Her home, when she finds time to visit it, is a 175-year-old farmhouse on the same Tennessee property inhabited by Naomi and her husband. Wynonna and her new family live nearby.

Despite occasional differences of opinion, Ashley says she and her mother are finding some new common ground. Naomi has been doing some guest acting spots, including an appearance on the hit TV comedy ``3rd Rock From the Sun.''

``It gives her insight into what I do,'' said Ashley. ``She and Sister have such a deep symbiosis with their music, and this is an opportunity for her to inhabit my artistic world.''

Though all the Judds are famous folk back in Tennessee, especially at the new Nashville restaurant, Trilogy, that Naomi has opened with Strickland, Ashley said she often works with movie people who know nothing about her background.

``I love it when I come across people who are Judd fans, but on the other hand, it seems perfectly natural that there are people who have no idea who they are,'' she said. ``I walk between two worlds.''

Norma Jean would have understood perfectly.

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4 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) `Norma Jean and Marilyn'

Two of today's hottest young actresses, Mira Sorvino, left, and Ashley Judd, star as alter egos of the screen's most enduring icon

(2--Color) Rising stars Ashley Judd, left, and Mira Sorvino depict alter egos of screen goddess Marilyn Monroe in a psychological study of the legendary actress, which debuts Saturday on HBO.

(3--4) Daughter of Naomi and sister of Wynonna, Ashley Judd, left, plays the little-known Norma Jean - Marilyn Monroe before she became a star.