Country singer and songwriter, actress. Born Dolly Rebecca Parton, on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee. A native of Appalachia, Parton came from a musically inclined family. Her mother was a singer and her grandfather was a fiddling preacher. Six of her 11 brothers and sisters have also been active in the music industry. Parton got her start in show business with a role on a television variety show based in Knoxville when she was 10 years old. In 1959, she made her first guest appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. In 1964, just after her graduation from high school, Parton moved to Nashville, where she met Carl Dean, whom she married in 1966. After gaining some success as a songwriter, Parton recorded her first Top 40 hit, “Dumb Blonde” in 1967. Parton's career took off that same year when she accepted a role as the country singer Porter Wagoner's duet partner on The Porter Wagoner Show, his popular television program. She would work with Wagoner for the next seven years, recording such hit duets as “Just Someone I Used to Know” (1969) and “Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man” (1970). While singing with Wagoner, Parton also signed a contract with RCA as a solo artist. She scored her first solo No. 1 country hit in 1971 with “Joshua”. Another early solo hit, “Coat of Many Colors” (1971), became Parton's signature song.

In 1973, Parton released one of her most popular solo albums My Tennesse Mountain Home. She left Wagoner completely the next year and began a minor crossover to the pop music charts with her album Jolene (1974), the title track of which became her second solo No. 1 country hit. From 1974 to 1980, Parton consistently charted in the country Top 10, with eight No. 1 singles, including “I Will Always Love You” (1974), “The Bargain Store” (1975), and the disco-inspired “Baby I'm Burning” (1978). She achieved bona fide mainstream country and pop stardom with the platinum-selling and Grammy-winning album Here You Come Again (1977)—the title track reached No. 3 on the pop charts and spent five weeks atop the country charts.

By the early 1980s, the buxom blond Parton had also begun making a name for herself in the acting world, beginning with her own syndicated music television show, Dolly (1976). In 1980, she appeared in the hit movie Nine to Five, a black comedy costarring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Parton also wrote and recorded the film's theme song, “Nine to Five,” which became her first No. 1 pop single and earned her an Oscar nomination. Throughout the 1980s, Parton continued to win starring roles in feature films, including The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), with Burt Reynolds; Rhinestone (1984), with Sylvester Stallone; and Steel Magnolias (1989), with Sally Field and Julia Roberts. In 1987, she headlined a prime-time variety show, also called Dolly, which was canceled after one season.

Although Parton had continued to record No. 1 country and western hits throughout the first half of the 1980s, she failed to chart in the Top 10 in 1986. RCA did not renew her contract that year, and she signed instead with Columbia Records. In 1987, before the release of her first solo album with Columbia, Parton recorded Trio, a collection of traditional country songs performed with fellow singers Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. A critical and commercial hit, Trio became Parton's bestselling album ever and earned a Grammy Award. It also helped Parton deflect criticism that she had strayed too far from her country roots in order to court mainstream success.

Although her 1989 solo album, White Limozeen, produced two No. 1 country hits, Parton's popularity as a solo performer began to wane during the 1990s with the advent of the musical style called “alternative country.” She found more success by joining forces with other country artists, most notably on Trio and the 1993 album Honky Tonk Angels with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. In 1992, Whitney Houston's cover of Parton's 1974 hit “I Will Always Love You” (for the soundtrack of her hit movie The Bodyguard) sold four million copies and spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the pop charts. The success of the single helped bring some renewed attention to Parton's achievements as a solo artist. That same year, Parton earned praise for her starring role in Straight Talk with James Woods.

In 1994, Parton published her autobiography, My Life and Other Unfinished Business. Supported by a loyal fan base, she continued to record country albums throughout the 1990s, including Treasures (1996), a collection of eclectic covers of songs by artists like Neil Young and Merle Haggard, Hungry Again (1998), and The Grass Is Blue (1999). Parton also reteamed with Harris and Ronstadt for Trio II (1999).

In addition to her work in music and film, Parton is known for her Tennessee theme park, Dollywood, which she founded in 1986 in her native Smoky Mountains. To thank her for this contribution to the local economy, Seiver County built a life-size statue of Parton on the lawn of the county's courthouse. 1967 Hello, I'm DollySolo 1968 Just Between You and Mewith Porter Wagoner 1968 Just Because I'm a WomanSolo 1969 Just Between the Two of Uswith Wagoner 1969 Always, Alwayswith Wagoner 1969 My Blue Ridge Mountain BoySolo 1969 In the Good Old DaysSolo 1970 As Long as I LiveSolo 1970 A Real Live DollySolo 1970 The Best of Dolly PartonSolo 1970 Once Morewith Wagoner 1970 Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebeccawith Wagoner 1970 The Fairest of Them AllSolo 1971 Golden Streets of GlorySolo 1971 Two of a Kindwith Wagoner 1971 Coat of Many ColorsSolo 1971 JoshuaSolo 1971 The Best of Dolly Parton and Porter Wagonerwith Wagoner 1972 The Right Combination: Burning the Midnight Oilwith Wagoner 1972 Dolly Parton Sings, My Favorite Songwriter, Porter WagonerSolo 1972 Together Alwayswith Wagoner 1972 Touch Your WomanSolo 1972 The World of Dolly PartonSolo 1973 Just the Way I AmSolo 1973 Bubbling OverSolo 1973 My Tennessee Mountain HomeSolo 1973 Love and Musicwith Wagoner 1973 MineSolo 1973 We Found Itwith Wagoner 1974 Love is Like a ButterflySolo 1974 JoleneSolo 1974 Porter 'n Dollywith Wagoner 1975 The Bargain StoreSolo 1975 Best of Dolly Parton, Volume 2Solo 1975 Dolly: The Seeker & We Used ToSolo 1975 Say Forever You'll Be Minewith Wagoner 1976 All I Can DoSolo 1977 Here You Come AgainSolo 1977 New Harvest-First GatheringSolo 1978 HeartbreakerSolo 1979 Great Balls of FireSolo 1980 Nine to Five (and Other Odd Jobs)Solo 1980 Dolly, Dolly, DollySolo 1982 Heartbreak ExpressSolo 1982 Dolly Parton's Greatest HitsSolo 1982 Dolly Parton (Collector's Series)Solo 1982 Winning HandSolo 1983 Burlap and SatinSolo 1984 The Great PretenderSolo 1985 Real LoveSolo 1986 PortraitSolo 1986 Think About LoveSolo 1987 Triowith Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris 1987 The Best of Dolly Parton, Volume 3Solo 1988 RainbowSolo 1989 White LimozeenSolo 1990 Home for ChristmasSolo 1991 Eagle When She FliesSolo 1992 Straight TalkSolo 1993 Honky Tonk Angelswith Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn 1993 Slow Dancing with the MoonSolo 1994 Heartsongs: Live From HomeSolo 1995 The Essential Dolly PartonSolo 1996 TreasuresSolo 1997 I BelieveSolo 1997 The Essential Dolly Parton, Vol. IISolo 1998 Hungry AgainSolo 1999 Trio IIwith Ronstadt and Harris 1999 The Grass Is BlueSolo