Dolly Parton

January 19, 2025

Fast Facts
Background
Career Timeline
Why We Love
Surprising Facts
FAQs

Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Tennessee, United States. Her parents were Avie Lee Caroline and Robert Lee Parton Sr., and they had 12 children altogether. The family lived in rural Appalachia. In as much as they had money issues in the family, Parton has mentioned that when it came to the smartest person she knew, it was her father, who could do good business and make a profit. Parton was exposed to music from a young age; from her mother who sang and played the guitar to her learning about music personally while performing in church. From a humble background to performing on grand platforms, Parton’s journey is an inspiring one, and we love the great effect she has brought to country music.

Fast Facts

Full Name:

Dolly Rebecca Parton

Nickname:

Aunt Granny, The Iron Butterfly, The Queen of Nashville, The Queen of Country

Birth date:

January 19, 1946

Age:

Zodiac Sign:

Capricorn

Height:

4' 11"

Relationship Status:

Married

Net Worth:

$650 million

Background

Dolly Rebeca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Tennessee. She was the fourth child among Robert Lee Parton Sr. and Avie Lee Caroline’s 12 children. Her middle name, Rebecca, is from her maternal great-great-grandmother whose name was Rebecca Whitted. Parton experienced a lot of interest in music, learning more about it at church during performances. After receiving her first guitar which was gifted by a relative, she began to create her own tunes. Her professional journey, however, started at age 10 when she began to appear on local T.V. and radio shows in Knoxville, Tennessee.

During her young years, her family moved from the Pittman Center area to a farm near Locust Ridge. She lived out a lot of her special moments there, which she cherishes up until now. In fact, living there inspired her to write a song, ‘My Tennessee Mountain Home,’ in the 1970s. Parton went ahead and bought the farm in the 1980s, and her brother Bobby helped her with restoring its look and did some fresh and new construction.

Parton went to Sevier County High School, and while sharing her aspirations during the transition to graduation, she said, “I’m going to Nashville, and I’m going to be a star.” This statement, however, was met with laughter from the audience and was hurtful to her. She felt embarrassed but that did not stop her from reaching for her dreams. Parton moved to Nashville and set out to pursue her heart’s desires in 1964. She continued to take even greater strides working alongside Porter Wagoner in 1967, diverting from country and leaning toward pop. Discontinuing her work with Wagoner in 1974 led her to enjoy more success in her solo career, creating hits such as ‘Jolene’ and ‘Love is Like a Butterfly.’

Career timeline

1975 and 1976

C.M.A.’s Female Singer of the Year

With her hit songs ‘Jolene’ and ‘Love is Like a Butterfly,’ Parton is chosen as the Country Music Awards’ Female Singer of the Year for both years.

1978

Parton Wins a Grammy

Her song ‘You Come Again’ wins her a Grammy Award, and in the same year, she is named C.M.A.’s Entertainer of the Year.

1983

Pop Charts’ Number One

‘Islands in the Stream,’ written by the Bee Gees, with Barry Gibb as the producer, is turned into a beautiful duet by Parton and Kenny Rogers, and the song spends weeks at the number one position in the Pop Charts in 1983.

1994

Parton’s Contribution to an AIDS Benefit Album

For the benefit album, “Red Hot + Country,” Dolly contributes to a song titled ‘You Gotta Be My Baby,’ produced by the Red Hot Organization.

2007

Her Own Record Label

Parton establishes her very own record company, Dolly Records, releasing her first single, ‘Better Get to Livin,’ and the song peaks at number 48 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

2016

She Receives a Lifetime Achievement Award

After performing on “Forever Country,” which was a mash-up of a number of songs, including ‘I Will Always Love You,’ Parton is honored with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.

2020

“A Holly Dolly Christmas”

After 30 years, Parton releases her first holiday album, “A Holly Dolly Christmas”, which airs on C.B.S. as part of a Christmas special, and she performs songs from the album.

Why We Love Dolly Parton

She believes in the power of dreaming
Parton has worked hard to achieve everything she has. It’s all because she believes in her dreams and works hard toward them.
Her beautiful hair
Parton’s hair takes our breath away — as if her lovely personality and voice don’t already do that enough! She has been noted as saying she has around 365 wigs to ensure there are no bad hair days.
She supports charities
Not only does Parton have her own foundation, The Dollywood Foundation; she has also contributed to quite a number of charitable organizations. Some of them include the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes and Save the Music Foundation.

5 Surprising Facts

Parton breaks beauty rules
She loves wearing makeup and actually goes to sleep with it on, in case she has to go out in the middle of the night because of an emergency.
A cornmeal bag paid for her birth
Parton didn’t grow up with a lot of money; in fact, the payment made to the doctor who helped deliver her was a bag of cornmeal, paid to him by her father.
Her first crush was Johnny Cash
Cash was Parton’s first crush and she first saw him in person when he performed at the Grand Ole’ Opry in Nashville, where she also had a performance.
She lost at a Dolly look-alike contest
At a contest on Santa Monica Boulevard, Parton participated in a Dolly Parton look-alike contest after seeing some guys dressed up as her one Halloween; ironically, she did not even come close to being the winner.
‘Jolene’ was about a bank teller
We (old and young) all love Dolly’s smashing hit ‘Jolene,’ which was actually a song about a redheaded bank teller who loved to flirt with her husband, Carl Dean, and would pay him a lot of attention (which Parton didn’t appreciation).