Dolly Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean was born on January 19, 1946, and died on August 25, 2026. She worked as a singer-songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. Known as the "Queen of Country," she ranks among the most successful country music performers ever. Her cultural impact and charitable work, especially through Dollywood and the Dollywood Foundation, also defined her legacy. With over 100 million records sold, she is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Parton grew up poor in rural Tennessee. She wrote her first song at age six, appeared on television regularly by ten, made her first recording at eleven, and became a professional songwriter at sixteen. After writing songs for other artists, she put out her debut album, *Hello, I'm Dolly*, in 1967, launching a career that lasted nearly sixty years. She released 49 studio albums and wrote more than 3,000 songs. These include "I Will Always Love You"—a two-time U.S. country chart-topper that became the best-selling single by a woman when Whitney Houston recorded it—as well as "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors," and the Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit "9 to 5." She also scored another Hot 100 number-one with "Islands in the Stream," a duet with Kenny Rogers. Her final solo studio album, *Rockstar* (2023), reached number three on the Billboard 200, her highest placement on that chart.

On screen, Parton starred in *9 to 5* (1980) and *The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas* (1982), both earning her Golden Globe nominations, plus *Rhinestone* (1984), *Steel Magnolias* (1989), *Straight Talk* (1992), and *Joyful Noise* (2012). On television, she played Aunt Dolly on *Hannah Montana* (2006–2010), hosted *Saturday Night Live* (1989), and guest-starred on *Reba* (2005) and *Grace and Frankie* (2022). She produced and starred in the Netflix film *Christmas on the Square* (2021), winning a Primetime Emmy Award. On Broadway, she wrote the music and lyrics for the musical *9 to 5* (2009), earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score. Her life will be portrayed in *Dolly: A True Original Musical* (2026).

Her music earned gold, platinum, and multi-platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her awards include eleven Grammys and three Emmys, plus nominations for two Oscars, six Golden Globes, and a Tony. She had 25 number-one Billboard country singles (tied with Reba McEntire for the most by a woman), 44 career top-10 country albums (a record for any artist), and 110 career-charted singles over 40 years. Parton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1984), the National Medal of Arts (2004), the Kennedy Center Honor (2006), the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2011), and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (2025).

Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in a one-room cabin beside the Little Pigeon River in Pittman Center, Tennessee. She was the fourth of twelve children born to Avie Lee Caroline and Robert Lee Parton. Her older siblings are Willadeene, David Wilburn, and Coy Denver; her younger siblings are Robert Lee "Bobby" Jr., Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randle Huston "Randy," Larry Gerald (who died shortly after birth in 1955), twins Frieda Estelle and Floyd Estel, and Rachel Ann. Her middle name came from her maternal great-great-grandmother, Rebecca Whitted (née Dunn).

Her father, who went by his middle name "Lee," worked in the mountains of East Tennessee—first as a sharecropper, then tending his own small tobacco farm and acreage. He also took construction jobs to supplement the farm's small income. Though he was illiterate, Parton often said he was one of the smartest people she knew, especially regarding business and making a profit. Her mother cared for the large family. Avie Lee had 11 pregnancies (the tenth being twins) over 20 years, making her a mother of 12 by age 35.

Parton credited her musical abilities to her mother's influence. Often in poor health, Avie Lee still managed the household and entertained her children with Great Smoky Mountain folklore and old ballads. Of Welsh ancestry, she knew many songs that European immigrants brought to southern Appalachia. Avie Lee's father, Jake Owens, was a Pentecostal preacher, and Parton and her siblings attended church regularly.

When Parton was a young girl, her family moved from the Pittman Center area to a two-room cabin and farm on nearby Locust Ridge. Most of her cherished childhood memories happened there. A replica of that cabin is displayed at her namesake theme park, Dollywood. The farm and surrounding woodland inspired her to write "My Tennessee Mountain Home" in the 1970s. Years after the farm was sold, she bought it back in the late 1980s. Her brother Bobby helped restore the building and build new structures.

Parton described her family as "dirt poor." Her father paid missionary Robert F. Thomas with a sack of cornmeal for delivering her. Later, she wrote a song about Thomas. She also wrote about the family's poverty in early songs like "Coat of Many Colors" and "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)." The Partons' small subsistence farm on Locust Ridge sat in a predominantly Pentecostal area north of the Greenbrier Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Music played a key role in Parton's early life. She was raised in the Church of God, in a congregation pastored by her grandfather, Jake Robert Owens. Her earliest public performances were in that church, starting at age six. At seven, she began playing a homemade guitar. When she was eight, her uncle bought her first real guitar.

Despite their poverty, the Parton family ate well. Parton's 2024 cookbook, *Good Lookin' Cookin'* (co-written with her sister Rachel), recalls many family meals. One day after graduating from Sevier County High School in Sevierville, Tennessee, in 1964, Parton moved to Nashville.