Dolly Rebecca Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946 in Pittman Center, Tennessee and was raised in Sevierville, Tennessee to Avie Lee Parton who was a housewife & Robert Lee Parton, a tobacco farmer. When she was 12 she was already on Knoxville TV. At 13 she was already recording for a small label as well as performing at Grand Ole Opry. She graduated high school in 1964 before moving to Nashville to begin her country singing journey. She began to fall in love with Carl Dean, who ran an asphalt-paving company. They got married on May 30, 1966 and are still together. Porter Wagoner saw her singing and invited her to appear on The Porter Wagoner Show (1961). She was on the show for seven years. Their duets became famous as well as she appeared with his band at the Grand Ole Opry; she also sold and toured records. At the point that her hit song "Joshua" was ranked #1 in 1970, her fame had overshadowed his, and she branched out on her own though still recording duets with him. She separated from him and became a solo artist in 1974. Dolly achieved immense fame as a songwriter/singer. Dolly was honored with many Country Music Association awards (1968-1971 1971, 1975-1976 and 1975-1976). The petite (5'0") beauty was a natural on television at the time, and by the middle of the 1970s she was frequently appearing on TV specials and talk shows prior to launching her own, Dolly (1976). Dolly got her first Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1977 for "Here You Come Again". Dolly's debut film appearance came in the movie 9-to-5 (1980) In the film, she won an Oscar nomination for the song's title, as well as Grammy awards 2 and 3. The singer also took home Grammy awards 2 and 3 Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for the track "Nine To Five." The fame continued to grow with her roles in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) and as and Rhinestone (1984) in which she sang the track "Tennessee Homesick Blues". Dolly Parton Enterprises is her media empire worth $100 million. In 1986, she established Dollywood the Tennessee theme park located in Pigeon Forge. This was to celebrate her Smoky Mountain childhood. In the television series Dolly she played herself. In 1988, she won another Grammy: Best Country Performance Duo or Group with Vocals, for "Trio".