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ByEmma Lynch
Picture Editor
Dolly Parton, the country music superstar from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most beloved entertainers in the world.
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Image caption, Dolly Parton, bottom right, aged five
Over a career spanning more than 60 years, she sold more than 100 million records, wrote more than 3,000 songs and won 11 Grammy Awards, including a lifetime achievement honour.
Yet she has always described herself first and foremost as a songwriter. “It’s my way of expressing myself. It’s my therapy,” she once said.
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Image caption, Dolly Parton (upper right in the back) and family at Christmas in 1960
Dolly Parton grew up in poverty in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, the fourth of 12 children.
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Image caption, Dolly Parton, aged 14, at Sevier County High School in 1960
She performed on local radio and television as a child and recorded her first single at 13.
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Image caption, Dolly Parton pictured in 1965
After moving to Nashville the day after graduating from Sevier County High School, Dolly Parton scored her first solo hit with Dumb Blonde in 1966.
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Image caption, Country singer Dolly Parton and her collaborator Porter Wagoner perform onstage in circa 1967.
In 1967, country star Porter Wagoner invited Parton to join The Porter Wagoner Show, giving her a regular role on his nationally syndicated television programme as well as a place in his touring stage show.
Her breakthrough came with the album Hello, I’m Dolly.
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Image caption, Parton performing at the Grand Ole Opry
Dolly Parton became a member of the Grand Ole Opry on January 4, 1969.
She has described the Opry as the “church of my heart” and said performing there was a lifelong dream.
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In one remarkable 1973 writing session, Parton penned two of her signature hits – Jolene and I Will Always Love You.
Having written thousands of songs across her decades-long career, Parton said songwriting was her greatest form of self-expression.
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Image caption, Parton dressed as a playboy bunny in 1978
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Known for her larger-than-life image, Dolly Parton combined rhinestones, wit and charm to sustain a career that crossed from country to mainstream pop.
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Image caption, Parton performing in 1978
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Image caption, Parton’s album The Fairest of Them All was released in 1977
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Image caption, Parton meeting fans during her 1978 Midwest concert tour
She headlined festivals and became a global star with albums such as Here You Come Again.
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Image caption, Kenny Rogers performing with Parton in New York around 1985
Parton also became known for memorable collaborations, notably with Kenny Rogers, whose duet Islands in the Stream became one of the defining hits of the 1980s.
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Image caption, Workplace comedy film 9 to 5 starred Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Dabney Coleman
While Dolly Parton is best known for her decades-spanning music career, her work as an actor has also left a lasting impression on film audiences.
Parton’s breakout screen role came in the 1980 workplace comedy 9 to 5, where she starred alongside Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman.
Her portrayal of Doralee Rhodes combined comic timing with warmth, helping to redefine expectations of performers crossing over from music into film.
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Image caption, Parton also starred in 1982’s Best Little Whore House in Texas
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Image caption, Parton starred alongside Burt Reynolds in the film
She followed this with roles in films such as The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, alongside Burt Reynolds, and Steel Magnolias.
The latter featured an ensemble cast including Julia Roberts and Sally Field.
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Image caption, Steel Magnolias starred Parton, Shirley Maclaine, Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Julia Roberts and Daryl Hannah
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In these performances, Parton demonstrated a balance of humour and emotional depth, often anchoring scenes with a distinctly understated presence.
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Image caption, Parton opened her Dollywood theme park in 1985
In 1986 Dolly Parton opened Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near her birthplace.
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It became a major tourist attraction – one of the most visited regional theme parks in the USA.
The park’s success helped fund Parton’s charitable foundation and literacy programme.
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Through her Imagination Library, founded in honour of her father who could not read, Dolly Parton has given away more than 100 million free books to children around the world.
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Image caption, Parton reading her book Coat of Many Colours to children in 2018
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Her own book, Coat of Many Colours, was the 100 millionth book that programme donated to the US Library of Congress collection.
A council in Scotland announced it would dedicate a day to Dolly Parton every year to mark the impact of her reading scheme.
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Parton personally donated millions to medical research and disaster relief.
The singer also led several major disaster-relief efforts, most notably creating the My People Fund after the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires which distributed about $10m to families who lost homes.
She lined up an all-star list of performers for a three-hour telethon to raise money.
In 2024, she pledged $2m for Hurricane Helene relief in East Tennessee and Appalachia, combining a personal donation with matching support from her businesses and foundation.
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Image caption, Parton performed in the “legends slot” at Glastonbury in 2014
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Parton’s 2014 Glastonbury Festival appearance quickly became one of the defining “Legends” slot performances in the event’s history.
Drawing one of the festival’s biggest-ever daytime crowds – estimated at more than 180,000 – she turned the Pyramid Stage into a mass singalong, with renditions of Jolene, 9 to 5 and I Will Always Love You prompting scenes of near-universal audience participation.
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In 2019, Parton celebrated 50 years as an Opry member with a major televised special called Dolly Parton: 50 Years at the Opry.
The event featured performances and tributes from other country artists.
Her decades-spanning relationship with the Opry helped cement its status as both a guardian of country music tradition and a stage for modern stars.
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Parton gradually began to step away from major touring, saying she no longer wanted to spend long stretches on the road.
Instead, she focused on selective live shows, new recording projects and screen appearances including Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, Mountain Magic and Christmas on the Square for Netflix.
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Image caption, Dolly Parton encouraged her fans to get the Covid vaccine during the pandemic
In 2021, Parton publicly received a Covid-19 vaccine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, using the moment to encourage others to do the same.
She sang an adapted version of her hit Jolene, singing: “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you, please don’t hesitate.”
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Image caption, Parton performing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2022
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Image source, VALERIE MACON/AFP
Parton’s 2022 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame marked a characteristically self-aware turn.
Having initially said she had not “earned” the honour, she later embraced it with humour – declaring “I’m a rock star now” – before performing her new song Rockin’, written especially for the ceremony, a symbolic step toward her later rock album Rockstar.
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In 2023, Parton delivered another headline-grabbing live moment when she performed at the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving halftime show, appearing in a rhinestone-studded Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders outfit.
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More recently, Parton continued to balance personal loss with new creative work.
Following the death of her husband Carl Dean in 2025, she released If You Hadn’t Been There in tribute, while also continuing development of Dolly: A True Original Musical, the stage production based on her life and career.
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In early 2026, Parton gave a pre-recorded tribute speech for Ozzy Osbourne at the BRIT Awards in Manchester, where Ozzy received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award.
Her speech was short but was one of the emotional highlights of the ceremony.
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Parton had been due to return to the stage for a short Las Vegas residency, but announced this month that she was cancelling the run because of health issues, telling fans she needed “a little more time to heal”.
She will remain a cultural icon remembered for her generosity and humour, as well as her extraordinary songwriting – the craft at the heart of a catalogue that has shaped modern country music and crossed generations.
