Wednesday, August 26, 2026

A02136B - Dolly Parton, Country Music Superstar

 May, her induction was announced and on November 5, 2022, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[106][107] In October 2022, Parton stated in an interview that she would no longer tour, but would continue to play live shows occasionally.[108] On December 31, 2022, Parton co-hosted NBC's New Year's special Miley's New Year's Eve Party.[109]

On January 17, 2023, Parton announced she would release her first rock album, titled Rockstar, later that year, during an interview on The View.[110] The lead single "World on Fire" was released on May 11, 2023,[111] and it peaked at number one a week later.[112] The album was released on November 17, 2023, and features collaborations with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sting, Elton John, Sheryl Crow, Steve Perry, Miley Cyrus and Lizzo, among others.[113] The album received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, becoming Parton's highest-charting solo studio album as well as topping the Country and Rock Albums charts.[114]

The soundtrack single "Gonna Be You" from the movie 80 for Brady was released January 20, 2023. The song was written by Diane Warren and performed by Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry and Gloria Estefan. The official music video shows Parton, Carlisle, Lauper and Estefan performing while wearing football jerseys similar to the ones worn by the women in the film, interspersed with clips from the film.[115]

On March 29, 2024, Parton was featured on Beyoncé's eighth studio album Cowboy Carter, being involved in the introduction to the reinterpretation of "Jolene" by her colleague, in which Parton associates the character of "Jolene" with "Becky" from the track "Sorry" on Beyoncé's album Lemonade,[116] and as a featured artist on the track "Tyrant".[117]

Parton performing "Peace Like a River" with Dionne Warwick (2023)

On February 14, 2025, Parton featured on Sabrina Carpenter's song "Please Please Please" on the deluxe edition of her album Short n' Sweet and its accompanying music video.[118] On March 7, 2025, Parton released the single "If You Hadn't Been There", as a tribute to her husband, who had died a week before. In the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number twenty-one on the sales and downloads chart components.[119] In 2025, Dolly Parton recorded a new version of the 1985 single "Home Sweet Home" with Mötley Crüe, marking the song's 40th anniversary. The track was released on the band's compilation From The Beginning, with a portion of proceeds benefiting Covenant House, a charity supporting homeless youth.[120][121] The collaboration returned a favour Parton had extended two years earlier, when she invited Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx and John 5 to contribute to her 2023 rock album Rockstar.[122] Parton planned to begin a six-date Las Vegas residency, Dolly: Live in Las Vegas, at Caesars Palace in December 2025,[123] but she postponed[124] and then cancelled it.[125]

On January 16, 2026, in anticipation of her 80th birthday, Parton released a new live version of the song "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" featuring several celebrity guests: Queen Latifah, Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Reba McEntire, David Foster.[126] On March 13, 2026, Parton made her first major appearance since the health scare to give the keynote address at Dollywood during the 41st anniversary celebration.[127]

She made her last public appearance in June 2026, appearing at the grand opening of a truck stop off Interstate 65 in Cornersville, Tennessee that was being named in her honor.[128]

On August 14, 2026, over a week before her death, Parton was set to attend the grand opening of NightFlight Expedition, a new ride at the Dollywood theme park. Instead, she appeared in a recorded video from her home in Nashville to explain that because of health issues, she could not appear in person.[129]

Public image

The way I look and the way I looked then was a country girl's idea of glam, just like I wrote in my "Backwoods Barbie" song. People wanted me to change, they thought I looked cheap. But I patterned my look after the town tramp. Everybody said, "She's trash." And in my little girl mind, I thought, "Well, that's what I'm going to be when I grow up." It was really like a look I was after. I wasn't a natural beauty. So, I just like to look the way I look. I'm so outgoing inside in my personality, that I need the way I look to match all of that.

— Dolly Parton, 2022[130]

Parton had turned down several offers to pose nude for Playboy magazine, but did appear on the cover of the October 1978 issue wearing a Playboy bunny outfit, complete with ears. The issue featured Lawrence Grobel's extensive and candid interview with Parton, representing one of her earliest high-profile interviews with the mainstream press.[131] The association of breasts with Parton's public image is illustrated in the naming of Dolly the sheep after her, since the sheep was cloned from a cell taken from an adult ewe's mammary gland.[132][133] In Mobile, Alabama, the General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge is commonly called "the Dolly Parton Bridge" due to its arches resembling her bust.[134] The thickened appearance of the turret frontal armor of the T-72A main battle tank led to the unofficial Army nickname "Dolly Parton"[135] and later the T-72BIs got the "Super Dolly Parton" nickname.[136]

Parton was known for having undergone considerable plastic surgery.[137][138] On a 2003 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Winfrey asked what kind of cosmetic surgery Parton had undergone. Parton replied that cosmetic surgery was imperative in keeping with her famous image.[episode needed] Parton repeatedly joked about her physical image and surgeries, saying, "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap."[139] When asked about future plastic surgeries, she said, "If I see something sagging, bagging or dragging, I'll get it nipped, tucked or sucked."[140]

Parton's feminine escapism[clarification needed] is acknowledged in her words, "Womanhood was a difficult thing to get a grip on in those hills, unless you were a man."[141] Parton said in 2012 that she had entered a Dolly Parton drag queen lookalike contest and lost.[142]

Artistry

Influences

Parton, though influenced by big-name stars, often credited much of her inspiration to her family and community. In her 2020 book, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, Parton wrote of her mother, "So it was just natural for my mom to always be singing. My mother had that old-timey voice and she used to sing all these songs that were brought over from the Old World. They were English, Irish, Welsh, folk songs where people tell stories." Parton calls her mother's voice "haunting". "Lord you would feel it", she wrote.[143]

Her biggest influence was her aunt Dorothy Jo: "People often ask me who my influences were, they think I'm going to say some big names and there were a few 'stars' I was impressed with. But my hero was my aunt Dorothy Jo, Mama's baby sister. She was not only an evangelist, she played banjo, she played guitar and she wrote some great songs."[143] Fellow singers also had an impact on Parton; she described George Jones as her "all time favorite singer",[144] as well as mentioning her love for other artists such as Kitty Wells, Roy Acuff and Rose Maddox.[145][146]

Musicianship

Though being unable to read sheet music, Parton was able play many instruments, including the dulcimer, autoharp, banjo, guitar, electric guitar, fiddle, piano, recorder and the saxophone.[147] Reflecting on her multi-instrumental abilities, Parton said, "I play some of everything. I ain't that good at none of it, but I try to sell it. I really try to lay into it."[148] Parton also used her fingernails as an instrument, most evident on her 1980 song "9 to 5", which she derived the beat from clacking her nails together while backstage on the set of the film 9 to 5.[149]

Other ventures

In 1998, Nashville Business ranked her the wealthiest country music star.[150] As of 2017, her net worth was estimated at $500 million.[151]

Songwriting

Parton was a prolific songwriter, writing country music songs with strong elements of folk music and her upbringing in humble mountain surroundings, as well as reflecting her family's Christian background. Her songs "Coat of Many Colors", "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene", among others, became classics. On November 4, 2003, Parton was honored as a BMI Icon at the 2003 BMI Country Awards.[152] Parton earned over 35 BMI Pop and Country Awards.[153] In 2001, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[154] In a 2009 interview on CNN's Larry King Live, she said she had written "at least 3,000" songs, having written seriously since the age of seven. Parton also said she writes something every day, be it a song or an idea.[155]

Parton's songwriting was featured prominently in several films. In addition to the title song for 9 to 5, she also recorded a second version of "I Will Always Love You" for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). The second version was a number one country hit and also reached number 53 on the pop charts. "I Will Always Love You" has been covered by many country artists, including Linda Ronstadt on Prisoner In Disguise (1975), Kenny Rogers on Vote for Love (1996) and LeAnn Rimes on Unchained Melody: The Early Years (1997). Whitney Houston's version, which was performed on The Bodyguard soundtrack, became a best-selling hit both written and performed by a female vocalist, with worldwide sales of over twelve million copies. The song has been translated into Italian and performed by the Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins.[156]

As a songwriter, Parton was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "9 to 5" and "Travelin' Thru" (2005) from the film Transamerica. "Travelin' Thru" won Best Original Song at the 2005 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards. It was also nominated for both the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the 2005 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award (also known as the Critics' Choice Awards) for Best Song. A cover of "Love Is Like A Butterfly" by Clare Torry was used as the theme music for the British TV show Butterflies.[157]

Stage musicals

9 to 5: The Musical

Parton wrote the score (and Patricia Resnick the book) for 9 to 5: The Musical, a musical-theater adaptation of Parton's feature film 9 to 5 (1980). The musical ran at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, in late 2008. It opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre in New York on April 30, 2009, to mixed reviews.[158] The title track of her 2008 album Backwoods Barbie was written for the musical's character Doralee.[159] Although her score (as well as the musical debut of actress Allison Janney) was praised, the show struggled, closing on September 6, 2009, after 24 previews and 148 performances.[160][161][162]

Parton received nominations for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics and a nomination for Tony Award for Best Original Score. Developing the musical was not a quick process. According to the public-radio program Studio 360 (October 29, 2005),[163] in October 2005 Parton was in the midst of composing songs for a Broadway musical theater adaptation of the film. In late June 2007, 9 to 5: The Musical was read for industry presentations. The readings starred Megan Hilty, Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, Bebe Neuwirth and Marc Kudisch.[164] Ambassador Theatre Group announced a 2012 UK tour for Dolly Parton's 9 to 5: The Musical, commencing at Manchester Opera House, on October 12, 2012.[165]

Dolly: A True Original Musical

In June 2024, Parton announced an autobiographical musical about her life and career initially titled Hello, I'm Dolly (named after her debut album and also a play on Hello, Dolly!), with a goal of opening on Broadway in 2026 with direction by Bartlett Sher. The musical, with a co-written book by Parton and Maria S. Schlatter, features original songs as well as her more well-known hits. Parton also revealed that she had been working on the musical for the last decade.[166] The title was promoted as Dolly: An Original Musical on December 6, coinciding with a nationwide casting call for actresses to play Parton through different stages of her life, using the hashtag #SearchForDolly on social media video posts.[167] The show opened as Dolly: A True Original Musical at the Belmont University Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville in July 2025.[168][169]

The entrance to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge

Parton invested much of her earnings into business ventures in her native East Tennessee, notably Pigeon Forge. She was a co-owner of The Dollywood Company, which operates the theme park (a former Silver Dollar City), a dinner theater, Dolly Parton's Stampede, the waterpark Dollywood's Splash Country and the Dream More Resort and Spa, all in Pigeon Forge. With 3.1 million visitors in 2024, Dollywood is among the 20 most popular theme parks in the United States, and the fifth most popular theme park that operates seasonally.[170][171]

The Dolly Parton's Stampede business has venues in Branson, Missouri and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In 2011, the Myrtle Beach Stampede location was redesigned under the name Pirates Voyage,[172] and the show later expanded to Tennessee and Florida locations.[173] A former location in Orlando, Florida, closed in January 2008 after the land and building were sold to a developer.[174]

Parton was honored with proclamations of "Dolly Parton Day" multiple times. In 1970, her hometown Sevierville, Tennessee, declared one day to be Dolly Parton Day.[175] In 2011, the South Carolina General Assembly declared June 3, 2011, as Dolly Parton Day, in connection with the grand opening of Pirates Voyage in Myrtle Beach.[176] In 2026, the State of Tennessee declared her 80th birthday to be Dolly Parton Day in the state.[177][178]

On January 19, 2012, Parton's 66th birthday, Gaylord Opryland and Dollywood announced plans to open a $50 million water and snow park, a family-friendly destination in Nashville that is open all year.[179] In September 2012, Parton officially withdrew her support for the Nashville park due to the restructuring of Gaylord Entertainment Company after its merger with Marriott International.[180] In June 2015, the Dollywood Company purchased the Lumberjack Feud Dinner Show in Pigeon Forge. The show, which opened in June 2011, was owned and operated by Rob Scheer until the close of the 2015 season. The new, renovated show by the Dollywood Company opened in 2016.[181]

Business ventures

Parton announced in October 2025 that she would be opening her new SongTeller Hotel in downtown Nashville in partnership with the firm Herschend.[182] With the hotel, Parton will also be opening her new Dolly's Life of Many Colors Museum, which claims to be the "largest exhibit celebrating her life anywhere to date."[183] Advance tickets for the museum's opening in June 2026 went on sale on October 29, 2025.[184] On May 26, 2026, it was announced that Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop would open on June 24, 2026. The travel stop "will include a general store, a full-service sit-down cafe and restaurant offering DLY BBQ, as well as Dolly's Cup of Ambition Coffee." It is located at exit 22 off I-65 in Cornersville, Tennessee, approximately one hour south of Nashville.[185]

Production work

Parton was a co-owner of Sandollar Productions, with Sandy Gallin, her former manager. A film and television production company, it produced the documentary Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989), which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature; the television series Babes (1990–1991), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), and Angel (1999–2004); and the feature films Father of the Bride (1991), Father of the Bride: Part II (1995) Straight Talk (1992) (in which Parton starred) and Sabrina (1995), among other shows. In a 2009 interview, singer Connie Francis revealed that Parton had been contacting her for years in an attempt to film the singer's life story. Francis turned down Parton's offers, as she was already in negotiations with singer Gloria Estefan to produce the film, a collaboration now ended.[186] After the retirement of Sandy Gallin, Parton briefly operated Dolly Parton's Southern Light Productions. In 2015, she announced that her new production company, Dixie Pixie Productions, would produce the movies-of-week in development with NBC Television and Magnolia Hill Productions.[187]

Acting

Breakthrough

In addition to her performing appearances on The Porter Wagoner Show in the 1960s and into the 1970s, her two self-titled television variety shows in the 1970s and 1980s and on American Idol in 2008 and other guest appearances, Parton had television roles. In 1979, she received an Emmy award nomination as "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Variety Program" for her guest appearance in a Cher special.[188] During the mid-1970s, Parton wanted to expand her audience base. Although her first attempt, the television variety show Dolly! (1976–77), had high ratings, it lasted only one season, with Parton requesting to be released from her contract because of the stress it was causing on her vocal cords.[189] She later tried a second television variety show, also titled Dolly (1987–88); it too lasted only one season.[190]

In her first feature film, Parton portrayed a secretary in a leading role with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the comedy film 9 to 5 (1980). The movie highlights discrimination against women in the workplace and created awareness of the National Association of Working Women (9–5).[191] She received nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy and a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress.[27][192] Parton wrote and recorded the film's title song. It received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Song and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.[192]

Released as a single, the song won both the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and the Grammy Award for Best Country Song. It also reached no. 1 on the Hot 100 chart and it was no. 78 on the "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs" list released by the American Film Institute in 2004. 9 to 5 became a major box office success, grossing over $3.9 million its opening weekend and over $103 million worldwide. Parton was named Top Female Box Office Star by the Motion Picture Herald in both 1981 and 1982 due to the film's success.[193]

Parton with Sylvester Stallone promoting Rhinestone in 1984

In late 1981, Parton began filming her second film, the musical film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982).[27] The film earned her a second nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.[192] The film was greeted with positive critical reviews and became a commercial success, earning over $69 million worldwide.[194] After a two-year hiatus from films, Parton was teamed with Sylvester Stallone for Rhinestone (1984), a comedy film about a country music star's efforts to mold an unknown into a music sensation.[195] The film was a critical and financial failure, making just over $21 million on a $28 million budget.[196][195]

Continued roles

In 1989, Parton returned to film acting in Steel Magnolias (1989), based on the play Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling. The film was popular with critics and audiences, grossing over $95 million in the U.S. Parton starred in the television movies A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986), Wild Texas Wind (1991), Unlikely Angel (1996), portraying an angel sent back to earth after a deadly car crash and Blue Valley Songbird (1999), where her character lives through her music. She starred with James Woods in Straight Talk (1992), which received mixed reviews and grossed a mild $21 million at the box office.[197]

Parton's 1987 variety show Dolly lasted only one season. She made a cameo appearance as herself in The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), an adaptation of the long-running TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971).[27] Parton done voice work for animation for television series, playing the character Katrina Eloise "Murph" Murphy (Ms. Frizzle's first cousin) in The Magic School Bus (episode "The Family Holiday Special", 1994).[198]

She guest-starred in several sitcoms, including a 1990 episode of Designing Women (episode "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century") as herself, the guardian movie star of Charlene's baby.[199] She made a guest appearance on Reba (episode "Reba's Rules of Real Estate") portraying a real-estate agency owner and on The Simpsons (episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", 1999).[200][201]

She appeared as herself in 2000 on the Halloween episode of Bette Midler's short-lived sitcom Bette and on episode 14 of Babes, produced by Sandollar Productions, Parton and Sandy Gallin's joint production company. She made cameo appearances on the Disney Channel as "Aunt Dolly", visiting Hannah and her family in fellow Tennessean and real-life goddaughter Miley Cyrus's series Hannah Montana (episodes "Good Golly, Miss Dolly", 2006, "I Will Always Loathe You", 2007 and "Kiss It All Goodbye", 2010).[202]

Parton appeared as an overprotective mother in the comedy Frank McKlusky, C.I.. (2002) She made a cameo appearance in the comedy film Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, starring Sandra Bullock. She was featured in The Book Lady (2008), a documentary about her campaign for children's literacy. Parton expected to reprise her television role as Hannah's godmother in the musical comedy film Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), but the character was omitted from the screenplay.[203]

Final works

Parton had a voice role in the comedy family film Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), an animated film with garden gnomes about William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. She co-starred with Queen Latifah in the musical film Joyful Noise (2012),[204] playing a choir director's widow who joins forces with Latifah's character, a mother of two teens, to save a small Georgia town's gospel choir.[205] Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors, a made-for-TV film based on Parton's song "Coat of Many Colors" and featuring narration by Parton, aired on NBC in December 2015, with child actress Alyvia Alyn Lind portraying the young Parton. Parton also had a cameo in the sequel, which aired in November 2016.[206]

In June 2018, Parton announced an eight-part Netflix series, featuring her music career.[207][208] She was its executive producer and co-star.[209] The series, called Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, aired in November 2019.[210] Parton was the subject of the NPR podcast Dolly Parton's America, hosted by Jad Abumrad and produced and reported by Shima Oliaee.[211] In December 2019, the biographical documentary Here I Am was added to the catalog of the Netflix streaming service. The documentary, a co-production of Netflix and the BBC, takes its name from Parton's 1971 song.[212]

In November 2020, Parton produced and starred in the Netflix musical film Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square, which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie.[213] In November 2021, Parton was confirmed to be appearing in the final season of Grace and Frankie in a guest-starring role, reuniting with her 9 to 5 co-stars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.[214] In July 2022, Parton appeared as a simulation of herself on the sci-fi show The Orville in the episode "Midnight Blue".[215] In December 2022, Parton appeared in an NBC special titled Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas. On Thanksgiving 2023, Parton performed songs during halftime at the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys NFL football game.[216]

Personal life

Faith

Parton's views on religion were initially shaped by her upbringing in the Church of God. She grew more heterodox in her later years, remarking to New Humanist magazine in 2024 that she had grown to embrace a more universalist approach to God ("whether you believe in God or not, whether you call it Mother Nature or Father Time or a higher wisdom. You need to believe in yourself and you need to believe there's a force that can push you and lead you on"). "I wouldn't even say I'm religious, though I grew up with that background."[217]

Marriage

Parton arrived in Nashville on a Saturday morning, the day after graduating from Sevier County High School. After starting her laundry inside the Wishy Washy Laundromat, she got a cold drink and stepped outside. Carl Thomas Dean (1942–2025),[218] a Nashville native, pulled up along the sidewalk where she was standing. He mentioned she might get sunburned because of the style of shirt she was wearing. Following that interaction, they began a conversation.[2][219][220][221] They were married in Ringgold, Georgia, on May 30, 1966.[222][223][218] Although Parton did not use Dean's surname professionally, it was used in her personal life.[224] Her passport read "Dolly Parton Dean" and she sometimes used Dean when signing contracts.[225]

Dean ran an asphalt road and driveway-paving business in Nashville for decades.[226] He always avoided publicity and rarely accompanied his wife to public events. According to Parton, he saw her perform only once. She also said in interviews that even though it appeared they spent little time together, it was because nobody saw him publicly. Dean often visited Dollywood by himself and toured the park unrecognized.[2]

Parton commented on Dean's romantic side, saying that he did spontaneous things to surprise her and sometimes wrote poems for her.[227] In 2011, she said, "We're really very proud of our marriage. It's the first for both of us. And the last."[228] On May 6, 2016, she announced that she and Dean would renew their vows in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary later in the month.[229]

Parton and Dean moved into their long-term home on 75 acres in Brentwood, Tennessee, in 1972. They kept ownership of their prior home in Antioch, Nashville, for several years.[2] Parton's uncle, Dot Watson, and Dean built the home in 1970 and 1971. Her brothers Denver and Randy also worked on the structure.[2] Several years later, they added a guest house to the property.[2] Dean and Parton lived there together for more than 52 years until his death.

Although they never had children due to Parton's health issues,[230] Parton and Dean helped raise some of her younger siblings in Nashville. Her nieces and nephews, and later grand‑nieces and grand‑nephews, referred to them as "Uncle Peepaw" and "Aunt Granny." The latter name was later used for one of Parton's Dollywood restaurants. Parton was also the godmother of singer, songwriter, and actress Miley Cyrus.[231] Dean died in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 3, 2025, at age 82.[218][232][233]

Health

Parton was diagnosed with endometriosis and had a partial hysterectomy in her 30s, which affected her ability to have children.[230]

In the early 1980s, her career was temporarily halted by what Parton described as "female issues" and weight gain; she also noted that, throughout her life, she had contended with kidney stones.[234]

In May 2026, Parton said she was responding well to treatment after, as she put it, her immune and digestive systems "got all out of whack."[235]

Illness and death

In an interview with People magazine on August 21, 2026, Parton said she had been having "hard times" with her health and had overlooked some issues while caring for her husband.[234][236] She was hospitalized the same day at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee,[237] and died after a "brief battle" with cancer on August 25, at age 80.[238][239][240][241]

Tributes

The Academy of Country Music (ACM) said that Parton "leaves behind a legacy that reaches far beyond the stage." The Grand Ole Opry called her "a true country music icon."[242] President Donald Trump issued a statement describing her as "one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER" and ordered flags at half-mast for a week.[243] Multiple state governors issued similar orders.[244][245][246][247][248] Flowers were left at her Hollywood Walk of Fame star, at her Walk of Fame plaque, and at her statue in downtown Sevierville. Books of condolence were opened at the Country Music Hall of Fame.[249][250] The Empire State Building was lit in pink at 9:25 for her song "9 to 5" in her honor.[251]

Philanthropy

Education and literacy

In 1988, Parton founded the non-profit Dollywood Foundation, originally to improve educational outcomes among children in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee.[252] Among the foundation's early efforts was the Buddy Program, in which seventh- and eighth-grade students paired with a friend and pledged to support each other in remaining in school and graduating from high school. Students who graduated received $500. The dropout rate among participating classes fell from 35% to 6%, and the program encouraged the community to develop additional initiatives to sustain the improvement.[253][254]

Parton's literacy program, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library,[255] is also a part of the Dollywood Foundation, and it was founded in honor of her father, who never learned to read or write.[256] It mails[257] one book per month to each enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten. Over 1,600 local communities provide the Imagination Library to almost 850,000 children each month across the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia and the Republic of Ireland.[255]

In 2006, Parton published a cookbook, Dolly's Dixie Fixin's: Love, Laughter and Lots of Good Food, with all proceeds going toward the Imagination Library.[258][259][260]

In February 2018, she donated her 100 millionth free book, a copy of Parton's children's picture book Coat of Many Colors, to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.[261] and was honored by the Library on account of the "charity sending out its 100 millionth book".[262]

On the 30th anniversay of the program Roxanne Owens provided a summary of the impact of the initiative for Children and Libraries, the journal of the Association for Library Service to Children. [263]

In February 2025, Indiana governor Mike Braun declined to continue a state 50% match for Parton's Imagination Library. Dollywood Foundation President Jeff Conyers said, "We are hopeful that Governor Braun and the Indiana Legislature will continue this vital investment by restoring the state's funding match for local Imagination Library programs."[264] Braun would soon afterwards task his wife Maureen with finding ways to keep the Imagination Library's Indiana chapter alive.[265]

For her work in literacy, Parton received awards including the Association of American Publishers Honors Award (2000), Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval (2001), and Parents as Teachers National Center – Child and Family Advocacy Award (2003).[266] The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals awarded Parton an Honorary Fellowship in 2024.[267]

Healthcare and medical research

The Dollywood Foundation, funded from Parton's profits, has brought jobs and tax revenues to a previously depressed region. Parton also worked to raise money for other causes, including the American Red Cross and HIV/AIDS-related charities.[268]

In December 2006, Parton pledged $500,000 toward a proposed $90 million hospital and cancer center to be constructed in Sevierville in the name of Robert F. Thomas, the physician who delivered her. She announced a benefit concert to raise additional funds for the project. The concert played to about 8,000 people.[269]

Parton with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker at the rededication ceremony for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in September 2009

Parton was a generous donor to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). Among her gifts was a contribution to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt Pediatric Cancer Program in honor of a friend, Naji Abumrad and her niece, Hannah Dennison, who was successfully treated for leukemia as a child at the Children's Hospital.[270]

Parton also made "generational and transformational" donations of undisclosed amounts to the East Tennessee Children's Hospital, according to the hospital's president and chief executive officer.[271] The hospital was later renamed the Dolly Parton Children's Hospital.[272]

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Parton donated $1 million towards research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and encouraged those who can afford it to make similar donations.[273] She said "I'm a very proud girl today to know I had anything at all to do with something that's going to help us through this crazy pandemic."[274] Her donation funded the critical early stages of development of the Moderna vaccine.[275]

In March 2021, Parton was vaccinated against COVID-19 at Vanderbilt University. She labeled social media accounts of the occasion "Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine."[276] Parton strongly encouraged everyone to get vaccinated when eligible and performed a song celebrating her vaccination, set to the tune of her song "Jolene".[277][278][279]

Disaster relief and community aid

In response to the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, Parton was one of the country music artists who participated in a telethon to raise money for victims of the fires.[280] This was held in Nashville on December 9. Parton hosted her own telethon for the victims on December 13[281] and reportedly raised around $9 million.[282] Her fund, the "My People Fund", provided $1,000 a month for six months to over 900 families affected by the wildfires, culminating with $5,000 to each home in the final month due to increased fundraising, totaling $10,000 per family.[283][284][285]

In 2018, the FBI honored Parton for her wildfire aid, awarding her the 2018 Director's Community Leadership Award in a ceremony at FBI Headquarters. The honor was bestowed by Director Christopher Wray and was accepted on Parton's behalf by David Dotson, the CEO of the Dollywood Foundation.[284]

The impact of the fund's financial relief for the 2016 wildfire victims was studied by University of Tennessee College of Social Work professor Stacia West, who examined the impact of cash transfers on poverty alleviation.[286] West surveyed 100 recipients of the emergency relief funds in April 2017 on topics including housing, financial impact, physical and emotional health and sources of support, with a follow-up survey conducted in December 2017. West found that the "My People Fund", in tandem with traditional disaster response, gave families the ability to make decisions that were most beneficial to them and concluded that unconditional cash support may be more beneficial for disaster relief than conditional financial support.[287] The report cited the impact of the monthly financial disbursements from the "My People Fund" on residents' emergency savings: "Following the monthly disbursements of unconditional cash assistance, participants were able to return to baseline financial stability reported prior to the wildfire and improve their ability to set aside savings for hypothetical future emergencies."[288]

In the aftermath of 2024's Hurricane Helene, Parton announced a donation of $2 million to relief efforts, $1 million personally and another $1 million through her various businesses and the Dollywood Foundation.[289]

Animal welfare and conservation

In 2003, her efforts to preserve the bald eagle through the American Eagle Foundation's sanctuary at Dollywood earned her the Partnership Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.[290]

In 2006, Parton and Emmylou Harris allowed use of their music in a PETA ad campaign that encouraged pet owners to keep their dogs indoors rather than chained outside.[291]

LGBTQ+ issues

Though often politically neutral, Parton was known for her long history of openly supporting the gay community and publicly came out in support of same-sex marriage in 2009.[292] She also voiced her support for the trans community after a series of anti-trans measures came into law in Tennessee in 2023.[293][294]

Recognition

In addition to the awards Parton received specifically for her efforts toward promoting literacy, Parton also received recognition for her general philanthropical work.

On November 8, 2007, Parton received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution at a ceremony in Nashville.[295]

On May 8, 2009, Parton gave the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's College of Arts and Sciences.[296] During the ceremony, she received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the university. It was only the second honorary degree given by the university and in presenting the degree, the university's Chancellor, Jimmy Cheek, said, "Because of her career not just as a musician and entertainer, but for her role as a cultural ambassador, philanthropist and lifelong advocate for education, it is fitting that she be honored with an honorary degree from the flagship educational institution of her home state."[297]

Awards and honors

President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honorees in the Blue Room of the White House during a 2006 reception. From left: singer-songwriter William "Smokey" Robinson; composer Andrew Lloyd Webber; Parton; film director Steven Spielberg; and conductor Zubin Mehta.

Parton was one of the most-honored female country performers in history. The Record Industry Association of America certified 25 of her single or album releases as either Gold Record, Platinum Record or Multi-Platinum Record. She had had 26 songs reach no. 1 on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist. She had 42 career Top-10 country albums, a record for any artist and 110 career-charted singles over the past 40 years.[42] As of 2012 she had written more than 3,000 songs and sold more than 100 million records, making her one of the best-selling female artists ever.[298][299] As of 2021, she had appeared on the country music charts in each of seven decades, the most of any artist.[300]

Parton earned 11 Grammy Awards (including her 2011 Lifetime Achievement Grammy) and a total of 55 Grammy Award nominations, the third-most nominations of any female artist in the history of the prestigious awards.[301][302][303]

At the American Music Awards, she won three awards out of 18 nominations.[304] At the Country Music Association, she won ten awards out of 42 nominations.[304] At the Academy of Country Music, she won thirteen awards and 44 nominations.[304] She was one of the few female artists to win the Country Music Association's highest honor, Entertainer of the Year (1978).[304] She also had been nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award.[304] She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her appearance in a 1978 Cher television special.[304]

In 1984, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her music, located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California; in 1988 a star on the Nashville StarWalk for Grammy winners;[305] and a bronze sculpture on the courthouse lawn in Sevierville. She called that statue of herself in her hometown "the greatest honor", because it came from the people who knew her. Parton was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1969 and in 1986 was named one of Ms. Magazine's Women of the Year. In 1986, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.[306][307]

In 1999, Parton received country music's highest honor, an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.[308] She received an honorary doctorate degree from Carson-Newman College (Jefferson City, Tennessee) in 1990.[309] This was followed by induction into the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001.[310] In 2002, she ranked no. 4 in CMT's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music.[311]

Parton's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Parton was honored in 2003 with a tribute album called Just Because I'm a Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton. The artists who recorded versions of Parton's songs included Melissa Etheridge ("I Will Always Love You"), Alison Krauss ("9 to 5"), Shania Twain ("Coat of Many Colors"), Meshell Ndegeocello ("Two Doors Down"), Norah Jones ("The Grass is Blue") and Sinéad O'Connor ("Dagger Through the Heart"). Parton herself contributed a re-recording of the title song, originally the title song for her first RCA album in 1968. Parton was awarded the Living Legend Medal by the U.S. Library of Congress on April 14, 2004, for her contributions to the cultural heritage of the United States.[312] She was also the focus of a Library of Congress collection exploring the influences of country music on her life and career. The collection contains images, articles, sheet music and more.[313]

In 2005, she was honored with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given by the U.S. government for excellence in the arts. The award is presented by the U.S. President. On December 3, 2006, Parton received the Kennedy Center Honors from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for her lifetime of contributions to the arts. During the show, some of country music's biggest names came to show their admiration. Carrie Underwood performed "Islands in the Stream" with Rogers, Parton's original duet partner. Krauss performed "Jolene" and duetted "Coat of Many Colors" with Twain. McEntire and Reese Witherspoon also came to pay tribute. On November 16, 2010, Parton accepted the Liseberg Applause Award, the theme park industry's most prestigious honor, on behalf of Dollywood theme park during a ceremony held at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010 in Orlando, Florida.[314]

In 2015, a newly discovered species of lichen found growing in the southern Appalachians was named Japewiella dollypartoniana in honor of Parton's music and her efforts to bring national and global attention to that region.[315] In 2018, Parton received a second star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, inducted alongside Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris in recognition of their work as a trio.[316] Parton was also recognized in the Guinness World Records 2018 Edition for holding records for the Most Decades with a Top-20 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart and Most Hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart by a Female Artist.[317] In 2020, Parton received a Grammy award for her collaboration with For King & Country on their song, "God Only Knows".[318] In 2021, she was included on the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[319] The New York Times called her among the three of America's Most Beloved Divas (alongside Patti LaBelle and Barbra Streisand).[320]

During Donald Trump's first term, Parton turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice due to her husband's illness and the ongoing pandemic.[321] Parton turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom a third time during the Biden presidency to avoid the appearance of politics.[322] In response to a 2021 proposal by the Tennessee legislature to erect a statue of Parton, she released a statement asking the legislature to remove the bill from consideration, saying "Given all that is going on in the world, I don't think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time."[323]

In late 2022, Parton received a $100-million Courage and Civility Award from the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos.[324][325][326] According to Bezos, the award was given to Parton because of her charity work focused on improving children's literacy around the world.[327]

In 2023, Parton was awarded American Library Association Honorary Membership.[328] Parton was a Kentucky Colonel, awarded to her by the governor of Kentucky.[329]

Asteroid (10731) Dolly Parton, the former 1998 BL3, was named in her honor in 2022.[330]

Hall of Fame honors

During her career, Parton had gained induction into numerous Halls of Fame. Those honors include:

Discography

Solo studio albums

Collaborative studio albums

Filmography

Theatrical releases

Published works

See also

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Bibliography

Further reading

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Dolly Parton, Country Music Superstar Whose Songs Spoke to Millions, Dies at 80 - The New York Times

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Dolly Parton’s Death Hits Home for Tennesseans: ‘She Was One of Us’ - The New York Times

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