Judy Norrell was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on February 12, 1935, and grew up in Monticello, Drew County, Arkansas, and Washington, DC.
Norrell attended Ohio Wesleyan University and majored in philosophy. In 1957 she studied philosophy at the University of Madras on a Fulbright Fellowship. Upon her return from India, Norrell earned a law degree from George Washington Law School in Washington, DC.
After law school she started Julia J. Norrell & Assoc., a political consulting firm. Norrell has been a lobbyist for the insurance industry, the League of Women Voters, Business and Professional Women, the American Association of University Professors, and successfully lobbied for the passage of Title IX in the early 1970s.
Norrell began collecting art when she returned to the US from India. Artwork from her personal collection has been shown in various exhibits, including Myth, Memory and Imagination: Universal Themes in the Life and Culture of the South, curated by the McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina, and Shadows of History: Photographs of the Civil War at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Norrell has donated some of her collection to the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia, and The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Judy Norrell and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Judy Norrell, age 6, Washington, DC, 1941; Photograph by Harris & Ewing
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Judy Norrell in elementary school, Washington, DC; Photograph by Harris & Ewing
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Judy Norrell, Washington, DC. ca. 1944; Photograph by Harris & Ewing
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Judy Norrell, National Cathedral School for Girls, Washington, DC
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Judy Norrell and her dog, Bill; Holton-Arms School, Washington, DC; Photograph by Harris & Ewing
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Judy Norrell's horse, Smoky Joe; Monticello, Arkansas, ca. 1950s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Judy Norrell as a teenager, Holton-Arms School class of 1953, Washington, DC; Photograph by Harris & Ewing
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Judy Norrell and Maurene at Holton-Arms School graduation ceremony; Washington, DC, 1953
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Judy Norrell in her late teens, Monticello, Arkansas; Portrait by Byron and Virginia Wilson
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Judy Norrell (seated on floor in white) with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India (center, foreground), John Kunz of New York (lower right), and other Fulbright Scholars; 1957
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Judy Norrell (right) with two friends from India; Washington, DC, 1959
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: (L-R) Margaret Durbin; Mary Gray, president of the Women's Equity Action League; Judy Norrell; and Pat Reuss of the Women's Equity Action League
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Judy Norrell (center) with two unknown women lobbying for Title IX
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Judy Norrell and a friend at an art event
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Judy Norrell (far right) with (left to right) artist Peter Max, Barbara Pryor, and Victor Zurbel at the Democratic National Convention; Chicago, Illinois
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Judy Norrell and Snoopy at the Democratic National Convention; Chicago, Illinois
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Judy Norrell (right) with fellow delegates at the Democratic National Convention; Chicago, Illinois
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Judy Norrell (right) at the Democratic National Convention; Chicago, Illinois
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Judy Norrell and Clinton/Gore supporter holding first Clinton/Gore bumper sticker
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Judy Norrell with presidential nominee Bill Clinton; 1991
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Judy Norrell with a friend at the Hope Watermelon Festival; Hope, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Judy Norrell with Caroline Groom, northern Virgina; ca. early 1990s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Judy Norrell (center) with Justin Swift, and his wife, Yu; ca. early 1990s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Myth, Memory, & Imagination art exhibit banner displayed at the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Judy Norrell's dogs, Rusty (front) and Choo Choo, Washington, DC
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Judy Norrell's dogs, Choo Choo (left) and Stud; Washington, DC, 1996
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Judy Norrell; Green Bay, Virginia, 2021
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Judy Norrell; Green Bay, Virginia, 2021
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#30: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Judy Norrell; Green Bay, Virginia, 2021
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#31: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Judy Norrell; Green Bay, Virginia, 2021
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
