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, a homewife and 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 singing at Grand Ole Opry. She graduated from high school in 1964 and moved to Nashville to start her country-singing journey. Carl Dean, an asphalt-paving businessman, fell in love with her, and they were married on May 30 the 30th of May, 1966. In 1967 her singing caught the interest of Porter Wagoner, who hired her to perform on his show, The Porter Wagoner Show (1961). She remained on the show for seven years, her duets gained fame and she was a part of the group that Porter Wagoner had at the Grand Ole Opry. She also sold records and performed on tour. Her hit "Joshua" was a chart-topper. the top spot in 1970 was her biggest hit single. She made the decision to go it alone although she recorded duets with the singer. In 1974, she left for a new solo artist. Dolly was a popular singer/songwriter. Dolly received numerous Country Music Association awards (1968-1971 1971, 1975-1976 and 1975-1976). The petite (5'0") beauty was an ideal candidate for TV at the time, and by the middle of the 1970s she was frequently appearing in TV specials and talk programs before she got her own, Dolly (1976). Dolly was awarded her first Grammy award in 1977 for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Dolly made her movie debut in 9 to 5, the year 1980. The film received nominations for an Oscar for the title song along with Grammy Awards 2/3: Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Her most memorable role was in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) and Rhinestone (1984) in which she sang "Tennessee Homesick Blues". Dolly Parton Enterprises is her media empire that is worth $100 million. In 1986, she founded Dollywood in the form of a Tennessee theme park in Pigeon Forge. This was to commemorate her Smoky Mountain upbringing. In the 1987 television show Dolly She was the main character herself. For "Trio" she won the Best Country Performance Duo or Group with Vocals Grammy in 1988.