Dolly Parton
- Born: 19 Jan, 1946
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, tw...
FAMILY & COMPANIONS
- grandfather : "just about had a heart attack" when she first bleached her hair; maternal grandparent
- father Robert Lee Parton: born c. 1921; died on November 11, 2000 at age 79 from complications from a stroke
- mother Avie Lee Parton: married at age 15
- siblings : had 11 in all; six brothers and five sisters; Parton is the fourth child
- brother Larry Parton: died in infancy
- cousin Richie Owens: backed her on (and co-produced) "Hungry Again" (1998) album
- sister Stella Parton: born on May 4, 1949; had country hits like "Ode to Olivia" and "I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight"
- sister Rachel Parton: played the Doralee part her famous sibling had played in the movie version on the TV sitcom "9 to 5" (ABC, 1982-1983; syndicated, 1986-1988); performs at Dollywood
- brother Randy Parton: backed her on bass before landing an RCA contract himself; performs at Dollywood; appeared as a band member in "Rhinestone" (1984)
- brother Floyd Parton: younger; has twin sister Frieda; appeared as a band member in "Rhinestone"; wrote "Rockin' Years", a duet Dolly sang with Ricky Van Shelton, which became a smash single from her "Eagle When She Flies" (1991) album
- sister Freida Parton: twin of Floyd
- husband Carl Dean: married on May 30, 1966
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