Dolly Parton: More Than Just a Country Music Icon
With her big hair, sparkling outfits, and larger-than-life persona, Dolly Parton has become an American icon. Known for chart-topping country hits like “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” and “I Will Always Love You,” Parton is one of the most successful female country artists of all time. She has won numerous awards, including 10 Grammy Awards, and has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
However, there is much more to Dolly Parton than just her legendary music career. She is a woman of many talents and interests that extend far beyond the stage and recording studio. At her core, Parton is first and foremost an astute businesswoman with a passion for helping others. She has spent decades building an entertainment empire that includes a thriving music label, a popular theme park, and an array of other businesses. Parton is also a generous philanthropist who has donated millions of dollars to support childhood literacy and education.
When she’s not working, Parton enjoys immersing herself in an array of hobbies and activities outside of the music world. Here are five of the entertainer’s favorite pastimes when she’s not making hit songs:
Reading
Parton is an avid reader who loves nothing more than to curl up with a good book in her free time. She has often spoken about how reading was an escape for her as a child growing up poor in rural Tennessee with few resources.
“As a child, books were everything to me,” Parton told Southern Living magazine. “Even though we were poor, I was rich in my imagination.”
Parton’s passion for reading led her to launch Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 1995. This nonprofit organization focuses on promoting early childhood literacy by gifting books to children around the world. Through the program, Parton has donated over 100 million free books and continues adding books at a rate of over 1 million per month.
“I think you can learn more from reading than you can learn in school,” Parton told TIME Magazine about her literacy initiative. “But knowing how to read is the key that opens the door to everything else you’ll learn over the rest of your life.”
Beyond her philanthropic efforts, Parton is an avid reader in her personal life as well. She loves curling up with novels, biographies, cookbooks, and children’s stories. Some of her favorite authors include Mark Twain, Maeve Binchy, Jan Karon, and Maya Angelou. Parton also launched a book series for young readers in 2017 called Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The series includes picture books and chapter books aimed at sparking creativity and imagination in kids.
Cooking
Parton takes great pride in being an accomplished Southern cook. She grew up cooking with her mother and other female family members, learning traditional Appalachian recipes and techniques. Parton has often said that she finds cooking just as creative as making music.
“I’m a good cook,” Parton told Taste of Country. “I cook about like I write songs, it just comes to me.”
In 2006, Parton compiled some of her favorite recipes into a cookbook called Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s: Love, Laughter and Lots of Good Food. The book contains over 150 recipes for Southern classics like fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, and biscuits. It also includes family stories and personal photos that provide a glimpse into Parton’s upbringing in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Many of the recipes come straight from Parton’s childhood.
“The meals we ate were simple, but the food was full of flavor because it was made with love,” Parton wrote in the cookbook’s introduction.
Parton has since released a series of additional cookbooks, including 2012’s Dolly Parton’s Dixie Fixin’s: Love, Laughter, and Lots of Good Food and 2015’s Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. She frequently shares cooking tips and family recipes on her social media as well.
Parton’s signature dish is chicken and dumplings, which she learned to make from her mother. “It’s so simple, but it’s all about timing and doing it right,” she told People Magazine of the comforting recipe. Parton enjoys cooking for her husband and family and has hosted many dinner parties over the years for her celebrity friends.
Businesswoman
From a young age, Parton had natural business instincts that helped her become one of country music’s most successful crossover artists. She has leveraged her talents and popularity to build a diverse business empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
In 1967, Parton moved to Nashville the day after she graduated high school to pursue a career in country music. She signed with Monument Records and released her first single, “Dumb Blonde,” in 1967. From the earliest days of her career, Parton showcased her business savvy by taking charge of her own songwriting, image, and career strategy.
“I patterned my whole business life after the story of the Three Little Pigs,” she told Forbes magazine. “I have my straw house, which is my music. Then I have my wood house, which is Dollywood and all the other tourist attractions. And then I have my brick house, which is my real estate.”
In 1986, Parton partnered with Herschend Family Entertainment to open Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dollywood draws over 3 million visitors a year, making it one of the most popular U.S. theme parks. Parton also owns Sandollar Productions, the film and television production company that produced the movies 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias, along with several TV shows.
Other businesses Parton has founded or invested in over the years include:
Dolly Records, the record label and music publishing company that handles her catalog
Dolly Parton’s Stampede, a dinner theater with locations in Pigeon Forge, TN and Branson, MO
Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, a former attraction show
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, her literacy nonprofit
Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors, a line of dolls and merchandise
Gee Creek Mills, a replica mill and retail store at Dollywood
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Adventures Dinner & Show, a pirate-themed dinner theater
Dolly Parton’s Lumberjack Adventure, a dinner and show venue in Pigeon Forge
Dolly Parton’s Pirates Voyage, a dinner and show attraction in Pigeon Forge and Myrtle Beach
Dolly Parton’s Celebrity Churros, a churro manufacturing company
Dolly Parton’s Heartsongs Lodge, a resort that opened at Dollywood in 2022
The diversity of Parton’s business ventures stems from her desire to always take advantage of new opportunities.
“I will always continue to work,” she told Forbes. “I’ll always be creating something and have my hand in business because I love business. I love the game of business.”
Philanthropy
Parton is legendary not just for her business acumen, but also for her generosity. She has donated millions of dollars to charitable causes over the decades, particularly focused on improving childhood literacy and education.
In 1988, Parton established the Dollywood Foundation, a nonprofit focused on improving lives and serving the communities around Dollywood. One of the first initiatives of the Dollywood Foundation was the Chasing Rainbows museum, which provided a place for children to play and discover that opened near Dollywood in 2001.
Parton launched her most long-lasting philanthropic effort in 1995 when she founded Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. This program seeks to foster a love of reading among preschool children and prepare them for kindergarten by gifting free books each month. Through Imagination Library, Parton has gifted well over 100 million books and continues adding books at a rate of over 1 million per month. The program started in Sevier County, Tennessee and has since expanded across the U.S., Canada, UK, and Australia.
Parton has also been dedicated to supporting natural disaster relief, particularly in her home state of Tennessee. She donated $1 million to 2016 wildfire relief efforts in the Great Smoky Mountains and has given generously to rebuilding efforts after tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods over the years.
Some other philanthropic initiatives Parton has supported include:
The Dollywood Foundation’s My People Fund, which provided $1,000 per month to families affected by deadly wildfires in Tennessee in 2016
Donating $1 million to coronavirus vaccine research at Vanderbilt University in 2020
Founding the Robert F. Thomas Foundation to honor her late physician and support healthcare programs in Tennessee
Donating to HIV/AIDS charities since the 1980s
Supporting animal welfare through donations to the Humane Society and other animal charities
Raising over $300,000 for a children’s hospital in her hometown of Sevierville, TN
Parton has won numerous awards for her philanthropy over the years, though she prefers to keep her charitable work out of the spotlight.
“I just try to put my money where my heart is,” she told Billboard about her philanthropy. “I will always help when and where I can, but I do it quietly so most people don’t know.”
Spending Time with Family
Though Parton has enjoyed phenomenal success as an entertainer, she has said her proudest role is being a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. Family is paramount for Parton, and those closest to her provide a support system that helps keep her grounded.
Parton has been married to her husband Carl Dean since 1966. The two met on Parton’s first day in Nashville outside the Wishy Washy laundromat. Their romance blossomed into a lifetime partnership, though Dean has always shunned the spotlight. Parton has described Dean as a deeply kind, thoughtful, and supportive husband. They enjoy a quiet but rock-solid marriage built on mutual trust, compassion, and shared values.
Though Parton does not have biological children, she helped raise several of her younger siblings and has numerous nieces and nephews who are like children to her. She also co-founded the Dollywood Foundation with her brother Randy Parton and has worked closely with several other family members over the years. Her younger sister Rachel Parton is her personal assistant and stylist.
Parton adores her large extended family and treasures spending time with them, whether having cooking contests at family get-togethers or supporting them at school plays and sports events. She is also a doting godmother to several children, including singer and actress Miley Cyrus.
Now in her 70s, Parton delights in being an aunt and great-aunt. She and her husband Dean helped raise several of her nieces and nephews and Parton makes sure to be a caring, generous presence in their lives.
“I never had kids, but I have a lot of nieces and nephews that I’ve partially raised, or they’ve stayed with me a lot through the years,” she told People Magazine. “I’ve also been a fairy godmother to all the little ones in the family.”
Parton enjoys bonding with her great-nieces and nephews by singing nursery rhymes, reading books, and spending quality time together.
“They just call me Aunt Granny,” she said. “I just love all of the little ones in the family.”
Conclusion
Dolly Parton is undoubtedly a music icon who has made an indelible impact as a country artist, singer, and songwriter. But she is also a multifaceted woman with passions that expand far beyond the stage and studio. Parton is just as committed to encouraging childhood literacy, supporting her local community, and spending time with loved ones as she is to producing chart-topping songs.
From launching a nonprofit that has donated over 100 million books to disadvantaged children to building a theme park that draws millions of visitors to East Tennessee each year, Parton’s talents and generosity extend across many spheres. She approaches all of her ventures and hobbies with her signature blend of passion, business savvy, and heart. Whether writing songs or recipes, Parton puts love into all she does. Ultimately, her decades of work as an entertainer has enabled Parton to amplify her philanthropic vision and make the world a little bit brighter.