Dolly Parton

Born in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in East Tennessee, Dolly Parton grew up to become the queen of country music and transformed her humble origins into the stuff of myth at Dollywood, her wildly popular Smoky Mountains theme park. Performing on Knoxville radio as a singing guitarist by the time she was 11, she made her TV debut on the syndicated "The Porter Wagoner Show" in 1960 and moved to Nashville following her graduation from high school in 1964. She cultivated a "trashy" look early in her career, favoring bright red nails ("I needed to be colorful to look at"), bleach-blonde hair (replaced later by platinum wigs) and five-inch heals ("Because I can't find six-inch heels"), but her abiding trademark is her chest, two Tennessee mountains that have inspired a multitude of jokes, many told on herself by Parton (i.e., "I would have been very tall had I not got so bunched up at the top").

Parton joined Wagoner's Wagon Masters band in 1967, performing with him for the next seven years at the Grand Ole Opry, on tour and in recording sessions, not to mention serving as his voluptuous foil on his TV show, developing the presence that would make her a star in her own right. Her solo act repertoire became less overtly country, and there was no looking back after her 1977 Grammy-winning single "Here You Come Again" crossed over into the US Hot 100 pop charts. A media celebrity on TV specials and talk shows by the end of the decade, she ventured into movies in 1980, giving an engaging performance as a Southern secretary opposite Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in "9 to 5", the film succeeding to a large degree on the strength of her presence and charm. She also wrote the film's title song, which earned an Oscar nomination and a Grammy.

Parton was a delight as the good-hearted brothel owner Miss Mona opposite Burt Reynolds in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1982), but the film based on the Broadway hit was ultimately unsatisfying. "Rhinestone" (1984, featuring her first movie score), with Sylvester Stallone, missed the mark completely, and she experienced some very un-Dollylike depression in the early 80s, a brief departure from her energetic, cheerful persona. Rebounding from that, her career's recovery lagged behind despite her successful collaboration with Kenny Rogers, which yielded their hit cover of the Bee Gees' "Islands in the Stream" and several popular TV specials beginning with "Kenny and Dolly: A Christmas to Remember" (CBS, 1984). With her pop-flavored albums continuing to falter and her big-budgeted ABC variety series "Dolly" (1987-88) flopping altogether, it remained for the movies to come to the rescue and in her own words "make me hot again." She roared back on the strength of her Truvy, the owner of a hair salon in the 1989 adaptation of Robert Harling's play "Steel Magnolias".

After that, Parton branched out as executive producer of "Dolly Parton: Christmas at Home" (ABC, 1990) and took things a step farther as executive producer and writer of both the story and music for the NBC movie "Wild Texas Wind" (1991). Although "Straight Talk" (1992, her last feature to date as an actor) bombed, Parton's song "I Will Always Love You" became a huge hit that year for Whitney Houston as the theme of "The Bodyguard". Parton also voiced the character of Murph for the PBS animated children series "The Magic School Bus" (1994-1998) and starred (and executive produced) the TV-movie "Unlikely Angel" (CBS, 1996). An astute businesswoman, she is the joint owner, with manager Sandy Gallin, of Sandollar, a production company, and her theme park, Dollywood, located in the Smoky Mountains of her birth, outdraws Graceland (it brought in nearly $600 million in 1997). Music remains her first love, and recent years have seen her return to her country roots, less concerned in the crossover potential of her songs.

• Also Credited As:
  Dollie Rebecca Parton, Dolly Rebecca Parton
• Born:
  Dolly Rebecca Parton on January 19, 1946 in Sevierville, Tennessee, USA
• Job Titles:
  Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Producer, Author, Businesswoman, Musician, Philanthropist, Screenwriter

Family

• Brother: David Parton. Born in 1942
• Brother: Denver Parton. Born in 1943
• Brother: Floyd Parton. Born in 1957; twin brother of Freida; appeared as a band member in Rhinestone (1984)
• Brother: Larry Parton. Died in infancy in 1955
• Brother: Randy Parton. Born in 1953; backed Dolly on bass before landing an RCA contract himself; appeared as a band member in Rhinestone (1984)
• Brother: Robert Lee Parton, Jr. Born in 1948
• Cousin: Richie Owens. Backed her on (and co-produced) Hungry Again (1998) album
• Father: Robert Lee Parton. Died in 2000 at age 79 from complications from a stroke
• Mother: Avie Lee Parton.
• Sister: Cassie Parton. Born in 1951
• Sister: Freida Parton. Born in 1957; twin sister of Floyd
• Sister: Rachel Parton. Played the Doralee role (played by Dolly in the movie version) on the sitcom 9 to 5 (ABC, 1982-1983; syndicated, 1986-1988)
• Sister: Stella Parton. Born May 4, 1949; had country hits such as Ode to Olivia and I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight
• Sister: Willadeene Parton. Born in 1940

Milestones

• 1956 Featured on the radio broadcast, The Cass Walker Program, in Knoxville at the age of nine
• 1958 Made debut at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN
• 1960 TV debut on the syndicated show, The Porter Wagoner Show
• 1964 Moved to Nashville after graduating from high school
• 1965 Signed with Monument Records and released first single, Happy, Happy Birthday Baby
• 1967 Joined the weekly country-music, syndicated-television program, The Porter Wagoner Show ; performed with Wagoner on tour and released several singles together
• 1967 Recorded debut album, Hello, I m Dolly
• 1974 Recorded the single, I Will Always Love You (written about her professional break from Wagoner)
• 1976 Hosted first syndicated variety show, Dolly
• 1977 Had commercial success as a pop singer with the album, Here You Come Again
• 1977 Went mainstream with pop-rock band Gypsy Fever
• 1978 Performed with Cher on the ABC special, Cher... Special ; nominated for an Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Variety or Musical Special
• 1980 Co-starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in her feature film debut, Nine to Five ; also wrote and sang the theme song which became a hit and earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Song; also earned a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination
• 1982 Played a brothel owner, opposite Burt Reynolds, in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
• 1983 Headlined first solo TV concert, Dolly in Concert (HBO)
• 1984 Teamed with Kenny Rogers for the holiday special Kenny & Dolly: A Christmas to Remember (CBS)
• 1984 Wrote first film score for Rhinestone ; also co-starred with Sylvester Stallone
• 1986 Founded Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
• 1986 Made TV-movie debut in A Smoky Mountain Christmas (ABC); also provided story and wrote songs
• 1987 Starred in the short-lived ABC variety series, Dolly
• 1987 Collaborated with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris for the successful album, Trio
• 1989 Joined an ensemble cast for Steel Magnolias
• 1990 Debut as executive producer with Dolly Parton: Christmas at Home (ABC)
• 1991 Starred in the NBC TV-movie, Wild Texas Wind ; also produced and wrote the music
• 1992 Played radio-program host, opposite James Woods, in Straight Talk ; also provided songs
• 1992 Whitney Houston recorded a successful cover version of I Will Always Love You as the theme song for the film, The Bodyguard
• 1993 Recorded The Day I Fall In Love as a duet with James Ingram for the film Beethoven s 2nd ; the song was nominated for an Oscar and she performed it with Ingram on the awards telecast
• 1994 Collaborated with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette to record the album, Honky Tonk Angels
• 1995 Played herself in the TV-movies, Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story (CBS) and Naomi & Wynnona: Love Can Build a Bridge (NBC)
• 1996 Executive produced and starred in the CBS TV-movie, Unlikely Angel
• 1999 Recorded first bluegrass album, The Grass Is Blue
• 2002 Released third bluegrass album, Halos & Horns , which included a version of the Led Zeppelin classic Stairway to Heaven
• 2004 Earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Collaboration with Norah Jones
• 2005 Earned second Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for Travelin Thru from the film Transamerica ; also garnered Golden Globe and Grammy nominations
• 2006 Appeared as Aunt Dolly on the Disney Channel series, Hannah Montana ; is the real-life godmother of Hannah s Miley Cyrus
• 2009 Wrote the musical score for 9 to 5: The Musical, an adaptation of her feature film; earned Tony and Grammy Award nominations
• Co-founded Sandollar Productions with manager Sandy Gallin