Remembering Dolly Parton: 8 facts about the musical icon
Parton said that she once took part in a Dolly Parton drag queen lookalike contest and lost
Dolly Parton was one of the world's most successful artists. Yesterday (25 August), her family announced that she passed away at 80.
Here are some important and extraordinary facts about the country music superstar.
More than 100 million records sold, 25 No 1 hits on the US country charts, 11 Grammys and three Emmys -- country star Dolly Parton was one of the most successful singers in the world.
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On Tuesday, her nephew Bryan Seaver announced in a video shared on Parton's social media channels that his aunt had passed away.
"Dolly... opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent," Seaver said in the video.
"She never saw a door she couldn't open, and the doors she opened made and changed history."
Here are eight facts from eight decades of Dolly Parton.
1. Cornmeal for the doctor
Dolly Parton came from humble beginnings, growing up with 11 siblings in Sevier County, Tennessee.
Born on 19 January 1946, her parents paid the doctor who assisted at her birth with a sack of cornmeal -- though some sources claim it was oats.
Parton was born into a musical family and learned to play the guitar when she was 7. She gave her first performance on television at age of 10.
2. No 'Dumb Blonde'
Multiple sources have reported Parton's IQ to be at least 140. Her first song, which entered the US country charts on 21 January 1967, was "Dumb Blonde." In it, she sings "this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool."
It was a bold start for her entry into 1960s show business, at the time dominated by men.
"I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb… and I also know that I'm not blonde," she said of the stereotype.
3. Impressive parade of wigs
Across her seven-decade career, Parton loved following fashion trends -- especially when it comes to hairstyles.
Her trademark platinum blonde hair, though -- as mentioned above -- was never truly her own. Rather than spoil her hair with bleaching, she began wearing wigs from early on. It's said her collection numbered over 350 different wigs.
Parton never made a secret of her cosmetic surgeries. Over time, she used it to change her face and figure — but she always remained the friendly superstar with a big heart.
In 2025, Forbes magazine valued Parton's fortune at around $450 million (€387 million). She shared her wealth with people in need for decades -- in particular in her home state of Tennessee, but also around the globe.
4. Promoting reading for kids
Since 1995, Parton's The Dollywood Foundation has been sponsoring books for children as part of her Imagination Library programme.
From the day a child is born, parents can apply to receive a book every month up until the age of 5. More than 300 million books have already been distributed in five English-speaking countries: the US, Canada, Australia, UK and Ireland.
The programme is funded by the foundation itself, government support and private donors.
Recently, however, some Republican-governed states in the US have announced plans to scrap financial support for the Imagination Library. Parton, who didn't have children of her own, founded the library programme in honour of her father Robert Lee Parton --who was unable to read.
Each year, the foundation also awards five university scholarships to high school graduates from Sevier County.
The Dolly Parton Scholarships of $15,000 are aimed at "students who have a dream they wish to pursue and who can successfully communicate their plan and commitment to realise their dreams," as stated on the foundation's website.
5. A million dollars during Covid
In 2020, Parton donated $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where the biotechnology company Moderna was working on a Covid-19 vaccine.
On the BBC's "The One Show" in November 2020, she said of her donation: "I'm a very proud girl today to know I had anything at all to do with something that's going to help us through this crazy pandemic."
A few months later, she received the vaccine on camera and rewrote her hit-song "Jolene" to "Vaccine" for the occasion.
6. Hundreds of 'Jolene' covers
"Jolene" is one of the most frequently covered songs in pop music history. The web portal cover.info notes over 80 official cover versions -- from famous artists to indie musicians. Countless other versions can be heard on YouTube and other platforms.
One of the most popular covers was the raw and gritty 2004 interpretation by US duo The White Stripes.
Parton herself has recorded several versions of her famous hit -- accompanied by a cappella group Pentatonix, for instance, or alongside her famous godchild, pop star Miley Cyrus. In 2016, all of them got together to perform it live together on The Voice.
7. Two world hits in one day
Parton wrote both "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" on the same day in 1972. When Whitney Houston covered the latter two decades later, it became an instant global hit.
You might be surprised to know that "I Will Always Love You" was never meant to be a romantic song. In fact, it was about Parton ending her professional collaboration with her mentor, country star Porter Wagoner.
Speaking with radio host Howard Stern in 2023, Parton recalled the conflicted emotions she felt when writing the song.
"How am I going to make him understand how much I appreciate everything, but that I have to go? I thought, well, what do you do best? You write songs. So I sat down and I wrote this song."
Houston's '90s cover version earned Parton another $10 million in royalties. Speaking in 2021 on "Watch What Happens Live," she revealed that she invested the money into an office complex in a Black neighborhood in Nashville, Tennessee.
"I just thought, 'This was great. I'm going to be down here with her people, who are my people as well… I think, 'This is the house that Whitney built,'" she said.
8. Not the best doppelganger
Last but not least: Parton said that she once took part in a Dolly Parton drag queen lookalike contest -- and lost.
On "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Parton revealed that she had overdone her styling to avoid being recognised: She made her beauty mark bigger, her breasts larger and her hair bigger.
All the contestants had to walk across the stage at a gay bar, and whoever received the most applause was declared the winner. In the end, it wasn't Parton who won.
This article was originally written in German. It was first published on 18 January and was updated upon news of her death on 25 August.
