Dolly Parton, the country music songstress and philanthropist whose decades-spanning career made her an American icon, has died. Her death was announced by her family this afternoon; no cause was given. Parton was 80.
Born on January 19, 1946, Dolly Rebecca Parton grew up in poverty in rural Tennessee. One of twelve children, Parton began performing at age six, singing and playing the guitar; she made her first appearance at the vaunted Grand Ole Opry at 13. A singer and songwriter, Parton began a slow climb to success, releasing her debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly in 1967, the same year she became a regular performer on the country music variety TV series The Porter Wagoner Show. She became a fixture on the series, but went solo in 1974; her song about her professional break with Wagoner, “I Will Always Love You,” became one of her biggest hits. “Jolene,” another of her signature songs, was written the same day. Over a career that spanned over 60 years, Parton won 11 Grammys, 3 Emmys, and had 25 songs hit number one on the Billboard country charts.
A consistent force on the country charts, Parton began to achieve mainstream success, as well, especially as she branched out into acting. She made her big-screen debut in the acclaimed comedy 9 to 5; her theme song from the film topped the pop charts. She’d go on to have a successful film career, starring in movies like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, Steel Magnolias, Straight Talk, and Joyful Noise. Despite her eccentric image, Parton was a savvy businesswoman, and used her recording and film career to build an empire that included the Dollywood theme park. As Parton herself said, “I’m not offended by all of the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb…and I also know that I’m not blonde.”
Parton‘s father, a sharecropper, never learned to read or write; Parton would go on to devote a great deal of her life and fortune to supporting literacy. Her foundation, Dolly Parton‘s Imagination Library, mails one book per month to an enrolled child from their birth to the time they enter kindergarten. Over the course of its existence, the foundation has mailed out over 300 million books.
Parton continued to perform well into her late 70s, recently appearing on Sabrina Carpenter‘s “Please Please Please,” but had been slowed by health issues in recent months. She was predeceased by her husband of 59 years, Carl Thomas Dean, who died last year. Collider extends our sympathies to the friends, family, and fans of Parton, and to all those who were touched by her music, her acting, and her charitable works.
via Collider