SHE may be known for her incredible voice, big performances and even bigger wigs, but Dolly Parton has used her fame and fortune over the years to change the world.
The singer has just had the Covid vaccine she helped to fund and adapted one of her biggest hits, Jolene, to urge others not to miss out — the latest in a long line of selfless acts.
Dolly was called a “saviour” after donating an incredible $1million to Moderna’s vaccine effortsCredit: AP:Associated Press
Having experienced a true rags to riches story, Dolly has become one of the most legendary global musicians and accumulated an estimated net worth of $600million.
With it, she’s built up an impressive wardrobe, a stunning home and her own amusement park.
But rather than sit back and enjoy it all herself, Dolly has shared it out.
Here we look inside her glam life, and how she’s used her fame and fortune to help millions of others…
Dolly has become one of the most legendary musicians in the industryCredit: EPA
‘It was crippling… my dad couldn’t read or write’
Dolly lived a very different life to the one she does now while growing up as the fourth of 12 children in a humble cabin in rural Tennessee, with parents Robert and Avie Lee Parton.
The family were very poor at the time, so much so that Dolly shared a bed with several of her siblings.
In one particularly honest interview with Playboy in 1978, the singer even said it came as a relief when someone wet the bed – because it would provide much-needed warmth.
The house pictured on the album for My Tennessee Mountain Home was the house in which the Parton family lived during the late 40s and early 50s
Dolly aged 14 during her time at school before her fame took offCredit: Rex Features
She said: “The kids peed on me every night…
“[But] that was the only warm thing we knew in the winter time. That was almost a pleasure – to get peed on – because it was so cold.”
The family also reportedly had to offer the doctor that delivered her a bag of oatmeal as payment, as it was all they could afford.
Dolly Parton (upper right in the back) and family at Christmas in 1960Credit: Rex Features
The singer’s musical career took off from a young ageCredit: Getty – Contributor
Dolly is almost unrecognisable in this snap from the late 1960sCredit: Rex Features
Dolly later set up a literary program, the Imagination Library, which gifts books to kids who may struggle to access them otherwise, as a tribute to her father who couldn’t read and write.
She told The Sun: “I’m very proud of it. I established it in my home county because my dad couldn’t read or write. He lived long enough to see it start and I got him involved.
“He was so smart, so wonderful and such a good daddy but it was just crippling to him that he couldn’t read.”
The rise of Dollywood and endless philanthropy work
The program is one part of Dolly’s Dollywood Foundation, which she set up in 1988 – and it has strong links to her hometown of Sevier County in Tennessee.
As Dolly’s career grew, so did her philanthropy workCredit: Rex Features
Dolly has ensured she’s shared her fortune out to aid programs in education over the yearsCredit: Getty – Contributor
The foundation helps people in the area access vital resources and provides support for students going through their education.
Shortly afterwards, she also started The Buddy Program, which had a main goal of lowering the drop-out rate at schools in her hometown area.
It all came hand in hand with the rise of Dollywood, the singer’s amusement park in the Knoxville-Smoky Mountains metroplex in Tennessee, which she bought in 1986 to “bring a lot of jobs into the area”.
Dolly has remained close to all of her siblings over the years, and has done a lot for the hometown they grew up inCredit: instagram/dollyparton
Dolly’s vision with Dollywood was to bring more jobs into the areaCredit: Getty – Contributor
The Dollywood amusement park has been a huge attraction for decadesCredit: Alamy
Dolly Parton’s acts of kidness over the years
1988: The singer started The Dollywood Foundation to support youngsters through eduction.
1991: Having opened Dollywood, the star set up Eagle Mountain Sanctuary there too, to care for bald eagles.
1995: She then set up her book-gifting project, the Imagination Library, which was inspired by her father who couldn’t read or write.
2000: She establishes the Dolly Parton Scholarship to support seniors in Sevier County, Tennessee.
2007: Dolly’s work in her area continued when she raised $500,000 for a new Sevier County hospital – as well as donating money herself.
2016: She established the My People Fund following the Gatlinburg fires across Tennessee, which helped people who had lost their homes.
2018: The singer unveiled the Hannah Dennison Butterfly Garden at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, dedicated to her niece who was treated for leukemia there, having donated $1million to the hospital.
2020: Dolly donates $1million to the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine efforts.
Incredible retro-themed home with very private husband
Away from her charity work, Dolly has gone on to become the most honoured female country performer of all time, achieving a whopping 25 RIAA certified Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum awards.
Dolly has lived in her Nashville home since 1999Credit: ©CelebrityHomePhotos.com
The singer has given a few brief glimpses into her home on social mediaCredit: dollyparton/Instagram
And with it, she’s build up an incredible lifestyle.
She has been with her husband Carl Thomas Dean for more than 50 years, but they keep their relationship largely out of the spotlight.
The couple tied the knot on May 30, 1966 – and they’re still as happy as ever now, even recently renewing their vows.
Dolly’s husband tends to stay out of the limelight
The couple married in 1966 and recently renewed their wedding vows
They now share an incredible retro-themed home together in Brentwood, Nashville – complete with what’s reported to be an impressive car collection – which they’ve been in since 1999.
Aerial photos show that the sprawling home boasts a tennis court, several gazebos, and a huge plot of land around it.
The singer is a big lover of colourful artworkCredit: dollyparton/Instagram
She gave a glimpse at her kitchen after inviting Reese Witherspoon insideCredit: Shine On
Statement plants can be seen throughout her propertyCredit: dollyparton/Instagram
While she’s yet to give her fans a guided tour of her current property, her last home may give an ideas of how she’s decorated it – with frilled cushions, colourful pictures and retro furnishings throughout.
Dolly did give a brief glimpse inside her current home in 2018, however, when Reese Witherspoon filmed the first episode of her inspirational series Shine On with her.
The star was seen whipping up a full breakfast in her modest kitchen, before showing the actress her incredible outfits in her closet.
Her music room comes complete with some retro floral blindsCredit: dollyparton/Instagram
The singer has an impressive musical instrument collection tooCredit: dollyparton/Instagram
Dolly has made sure to keep hold of some of her biggest awards tooCredit: dollyparton/Instagram
Dolly also has her own music room, complete with an impressive black piano and floral blinds, while she keeps a collection of her awards over the years in one spot – with patterned wallpaper visible behind them.
Iconic style inspired by ‘the town tramp’ – & why she wears wigs
Dolly has become equally as well known for her iconic style over the years, with the singer often seen performing in colourful, tight and extreme ensembles on stage.
While talking about her cameo in TV movie Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, Dolly said playing the ‘Painted Lady’ was simple for her.
Dolly’s style has become as iconic as she isCredit: Getty Images – Getty
It’s rare not to see the singer in eye-catching dresses and bright coloursCredit: Rex Features
“This lady was the town tramp and I thought she was the most beautiful person I’d ever seen when we were little kids,” Parton told The New York Times.
“She’s the lady that I actually patterned myself after because she left an impression.”
She admitted she found out years later that her style idol was a prostitute.
Central to her style are her huge, statement wigs – with Dolly rarely, if ever, seen without them. However, she tends to go au natural at home behind closed doors.
She told Elle magazine in 2019: “I don’t always wear [wigs] in my daily life, but I always still pouf up my hair.
Dolly has a huge and extensive wig collection nowCredit: Getty Images – Getty
There’s few red carpets she attends without a killer lookCredit: Getty Images – Getty
“I still like to have that flashy hair. When I’m around home, I wear my little scrunchies, but I always put on some makeup and fix my own hair as cute as I can fix it.”
Dolly added that she chose to opt for wigs in public in the end due to the ease of them, and added: “Wigs are just so handy. I’m so busy, and I have so many choices. I never have a bad hair day, and that’s a good thing.”
The star has also posed in endless fashion and magazine shoots over the years, including an iconic one for Playboy in 1978.
In October she revealed she was in talks to model for the mag once again – but insisted the sexy photos “will be in good taste”.
It’s hard to forget Dolly’s bunny ears Playboy shootCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Covid ‘saviour’ with huge donation & bedtime stories for kids
Dolly’s latest effort, however, has once again cemented her as a legend in the spotlight – after she donated the huge $1million towards the Moderna vaccine efforts.
And it’s not the only thing she’s done throughout the pandemic to help people.
Dolly has gone above and beyond to help the Covid-19 recovery effortCredit: Alamy
The singer continues to wow fans with her charitably donations nowCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The singer has also been reading bedtime stories to children virtually in a 10-week series called, Goodnight With Dolly.
Away from her foundation, the singer herself has helped countless charities over the years – including the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Cancer Research UK and the Boot Campaign, which supports veterans and military families.
Elsewhere, Dolly has been a strong advocate of the LGBTQ community and even hosts an annual ‘Gay Day’ at Dollywood for her fans.
In August last year, she also threw her support behind the Black Lives Matter movement, telling Billboard: “Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!”
It seems all that 9 to 5 working has well and truly paid off.
