Dolly Parton
- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Producer
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946 in Pittman Center, Tennessee and raised in Sevierville, Tennessee to Avie Lee Parton, a housewife & Robert Lee Parton, a tobacco farmer. At 12, she was appearing on Knoxville TV and at 13, she was already recording on a small label and
appearing at the Grand Ole Opry. After graduating from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville to launch her
country-singing career.
She fell in love with Carl Dean, who ran an
asphalt-paving business; they married on May 30, 1966 and are still together.
In 1967 her singing caught the attention of
Porter Wagoner, who hired her to appear on his program,
The Porter Wagoner Show (1961).
She stayed with the show for 7 years, their duets became famous, and
she appeared with his group at the Grand Ole Opry; she also toured and
sold records. By the time her hit "Joshua" reached #1 in 1970, her fame
had overshadowed his, and she struck out on her own, though still
recording duets with him. She left him for good to become a solo artist
in 1974.
Dolly gained immense popularity as a singer/songwriter. Dolly won numerous
Country Music Association awards (1968, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976). This
petite (5'0") beauty was a natural for television, and by the mid-1970s she
was appearing frequently on TV specials and talk shows before getting her
own, Dolly (1976).
In 1977, Dolly got her first Grammy award: Best Female Country Vocal
Performance for her song "Here You Come Again." Dolly's movie debut was in
9 to 5 (1980), where she got an Oscar nomination for writing the title
tune, and also Grammy awards 2 and 3: Best Country Song, and Best Female
Country Vocal Performance for the song "Nine to Five." She got more fame
for appearing in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and in Rhinestone (1984) with the song
"Tennessee Homesick Blues". She is the head of Dolly Parton Enterprises, a
$100 million media empire, and in 1986 she founded Dollywood, a theme
park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, celebrating her Smoky-Mountain upbringing.
She appeared as herself in the
Dolly (1987) TV series. In 1988, she won another Grammy: Best Country
Performance Duo or Group with Vocals, for "Trio". Dolly was in the acclaimed
picture
Steel Magnolias (1989) with
Julia Roberts, and went on to
appear in 15 movies and TV-movies for the 1990s, and garnered more
more Country Music Association awards. In 2000, Dolly received her 5th
Grammy award: Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. She also released
a Bluegrass Album. Dolly is known for beautiful songs such as "Coat of
Many Colors," "Jolene," and "I Will Always Love You". Dolly said in
an interview, "My music is what took me everywhere I've been and
everywhere I will go. It's my greatest love. I can't abandon it. I'll
always keep making records."
Celebrities at Christmastime
Celebrities at Christmastime
See some of our favorite photos of celebrities getting into the spirit of the season.