Dolly Rebecca Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946 in Pittman Center, Tennessee and raised in Sevierville, Tennessee to Avie Lee Parton, who was a housewife & Robert Lee Parton, a tobacco farmer. She appeared present on Knoxville TV at 12 years old. At 13 she had a recording contract with an unnamed label and singing at the Grand Ole Opry. She relocated to Nashville in 1964 to begin her singing career after she had graduated from high school. She was in love with Carl Dean, who ran an asphalt-paving company. They were married on May 30 June, 1966, and they are still together. Porter Wagoner saw her singing and asked her to be a guest on The Porter Wagoner Show (1961). She remained with The Porter Wagoner Show for seven years. Their duets were well-known and she was asked to appear with him at the Grand Ole Opry. The hit song "Joshua" that reached the top spot in 1970 was her biggest hit single. She decided to do on her own and remained with the group, even though she recorded duets with the singer. She separated from him and became a solo artist in 1974. Dolly was a popular singer/songwriter. Dolly received many Country Music Association awards (1968-1971, 1971, 1975-1976, 1975-1976). She was a petite (5'0") beauty who was perfect for television. The mid-1970s saw Dolly was often appearing on TV specials and talk-shows before getting her own show, Dolly (1976). Dolly was awarded her first Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1977 for "Here You Come Again". Dolly's first film appearance was in the movie 9-to-5 (1980) in which she earned an Oscar nomination for the song's title, as well as Grammy awards 2 and 3. She also received Grammy awards 2, and 3. Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for the song "Nine to Five." More fame came from her appearances in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) and as and Rhinestone (1984), with the hit song "Tennessee Homesick Blues". Dolly Parton Enterprises is her media empire worth $100 million. In 1986, she launched Dollywood in the form of a Tennessee theme park located in Pigeon Forge. This was in celebration of her Smoky Mountain childhood. She starred in the Dolly (1987 television series) as herself. In the episode "Trio", she was awarded the Best Country Performance Duo or Group with Vocals Grammy in 1988.