Facts About Dolly Parton That’re Making People Fall For The Queen Of Country All Over Again

Love Dolly Parton? Who doesn’t! The bubbly blonde has charmed her way into the hearts of generations – whether that’s through her iconic tunes, witty quips, or enduring style. But there are still some details about the country goddess and her epic career that even the most avid fans may not know. So, take a look at these fascinating photos and facts – with many proving that underneath the rhinestone jumpsuits, Dolly truly has a heart of gold.

Her iconic look began with some strange experimentation

As she grew up poor in Tennessee, the young Dolly couldn’t afford to buy branded make-up. But that didn’t stop her from trying to look her best. Instead, she embarked on some creative improvisation. Lip stain? Well, that could be made out of berries. Dolly also produced a smokey eyeliner look with charred matches and even scented herself with honeysuckle instead of perfume. Talk about ingenuity!

She has a surprising link to Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Dolly is definitely a woman of many talents, but her time in TV is perhaps the most surprising achievement of them all. Did you know that the country icon was involved in the making of Buffy The Vampire Slayer? Yep, really! Although she remained uncredited throughout the show’s run, Dolly helped bring the hit horror TV series to screen through her firm Sandollar Productions.

She purchased her old family home and made some surprising changes

After shooting to success, Dolly eventually earned enough money to purchase her childhood home. And not only that, but she also spent millions of dollars making the property look exactly the way it had when she was young – outdoor toilet included.

Childhood bullying led to a lifelong phobia

As a child, Dolly was locked in a school cupboard by children who envied the star for her appearance on local TV. As a result, she has always been scared of the dark. Dolly still goes to bed with a night light shining, too. Yes, even the Queen of Country has foibles.

She and her husband kept a big secret

Dolly actually met her husband Carl in the early stages of her career, but that presented her with a big problem. Basically, she needed to hang on to her single girl image for as long as possible. But the loved-up couple didn’t want to wait to tie the knot, so they opted for clandestine nuptials in 1966, in Ringgold, Georgia. The pair managed to keep their marriage hidden for a full 12 months.

Dolly made family history before she even arrived in Nashville

Intriguingly, Dolly was the very first one of her relatives to earn her high school diploma – all the way back in 1964, in case you were wondering. But those smarts didn’t lead her on to further study right away. Instead, she left her hometown of Sevierville just a day after turning the tassel. Dolly wanted to kick-start her career in the music industry, you see.

Her first professional gig was an unusual one

Dolly’s uncle Billy nurtured his niece’s musical talent from a young age. And as it happens, it was that support that led the aspiring star to an early career break. Billy fatefully introduced her to a local man who liked to publicize his businesses on a Tennessee radio show. Thanks to this canny bit of networking, said show would then host Dolly’s first performance in front of a live audience – while she was all of just ten years old!

‘I Will Always Love You’ is an ode to another country star

“I Will Always Love You” remains one of Dolly’s most successful songs – not least because of Whitney Houston’s chart-topping cover of the track. What many fans probably don’t know, however, is that the lyrics were actually written for Porter Wagoner after he and Dolly ended their long-time musical partnership. That’s quite the tribute.

Dolly’s locks were in high demand during the ’90s

During the 1990s Revlon met popular demand by producing a range of wigs modeled on Dolly’s locks. Yes, really! And to this day the hairpieces are still sold online. Fancy your own set of blonde beehive curls? Then just try a little digging on eBay...

She has a very special connection to the Girl Scouts

Was Dolly a Girl Scout? Not quite. The link comes from the fact that members can earn a patch called “Coat of Many Colors” – named after Dolly’s famous 1971 single, of course. The honor is given for thinking about those who are less fortunate and organizing ways to help the poor, and it was created by the Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians in collaboration with the country star herself.

She’s got a degree

In 2009 Dolly was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Texas in Knoxville. The reason? Well, it was for her services to charity and entertainment, natch! And when the star stepped up to the stage, she became only the second person ever to receive such a distinction from the college.

Two of her biggest songs took no time to write

It took Dolly just one night in 1973 to pen songs “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You.” That feat is all the more incredible given that “Jolene” remains one of the most successful and beloved hits for the star as a solo artist. Meanwhile, “I Will Always Love You” is arguably even more iconic thanks to Whitney Houston’s cover.

There’s one part of being a beauty icon that Dolly simply won’t tolerate

Dolly has been very open about her relationship with dieting: basically, after years of following all the regimes, she’s not a fan. According to Hello! magazine, she once said, “I tried every diet in the book. I tried eating the book, [and] it tasted better than most of the diets.” Perhaps that’s because food is – alongside men – her greatest vice.

She was named Tennessean of the Year in 2006 – but not for her music

The star’s child literacy charity – Dolly’s Imagination Library – deservedly earned her the accolade of “Tennessean of the Year” back in 2006. She had originally launched the organization back in 1995 to raise literacy rates among pre-schoolers in her home county in East Tennessee.

Even scientists have honored her

The world’s first cloned mammal was a sheep named Dolly – after the country icon herself. And that tribute was a bit of a brazen one from the scientists involved in the animal’s creation. How? Well, the sheep was cloned from a mammary gland cell. And it didn’t escape them that Dolly herself has a substantial bust.

Her charity work extends far beyond her literacy program

In December 2016 Dolly created the “My People Fund” for residents of the Great Smokey Mountain area. That year, the community had been devastated by wildfires that had forced 2,000 people to flee their homes. This act of kindheartedness apparently came on the back of yet another good deed. In November 2016 Dolly awarded a $30,000 college scholarship to a two-year-old who had recently signed up for her literacy program. How can you not love that?

An unusual toy inspired her very first song

Dolly was so small when she first started writing lyrics that she had to have her mom transcribe the words. And, charmingly, the first ever tune Dolly composed was about her doll, which had been created from a corn cob. Aww!

She is the biggest employer in her hometown

Ever since she moved away at 18, Dolly has been determined to help people living in the community she grew up in. And it’s safe to say she’s done that. You see, through her theme park, Dollywood, she employs more people in Sevier County than any other business.

She’s been targeted by extremists

In the mid-’00s, several theme parks participated in “Gay Days” that gave members of the LGBT community and their loved ones safe spaces in which to enjoy all the attractions. And while Dollywood was one of the parks involved in the scheme, not everyone approved. In particular, Dolly received threats to her person from the Ku Klux Klan for her gesture. Naturally, though, she didn’t let the group deter her.

Her husband allowed the cameras into their lives – on one condition…

Dolly and her husband celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 2016. That’s right: 50 years of marriage! And the couple marked the special occasion with a private ceremony to renew their vows in Nashville, Tennessee. That’s heartwarming enough by itself, but Carl and Dolly upped the ante even further by selling the photographs of the event at a special charity auction. The money they brought in ultimately went to Dolly’s Imagination Library.

Her birth was paid for in an unusual way

It’s no secret that Dolly was born into extreme poverty. Back in the day, her family lived in a tiny cabin in Tennessee – one without either running water or proper power. And when Dolly came into the world, her father Robert was only able to compensate the doctor attending the birth with a bag of oatmeal. From such humble beginnings are legends born.

She wakes up at 3:00 a.m.

Dolly is a busy woman and has to pack a lot into her day. So, she wakes up in the wee small hours of the morning – 3:00 a.m. in fact – in order to get everything done. Wow! In 2018 Dolly cheerfully told Today, “I go to bed early, but I’m just an early bird. I get more work done between 3:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. than most people all day, because it’s quiet and the energy’s all low-key – except mine.”

She once lost a Dolly Parton lookalike contest

It sounds like an urban legend, but it’s true. Dolly once entered a lookalike contest… And lost. In 2009 she revealed all to Robin Roberts, saying, “At a Halloween contest years ago on Santa Monica Boulevard where all the guys were dressed up like me… I just overexaggerated my look and went in and just walked up on stage… I didn’t win. I didn’t even come in close, I don’t think.”

She doesn’t regret not having children

Dolly and Carl may never have had any kids, but the star claims to have no regrets about it. In 2014 she told Billboard that she was very close to her nieces and nephews instead. Dolly also explained, “God didn’t mean for me to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine.” Adorable.

You won’t see her riding anything at her theme park

Dolly may have her own theme park, but she’s not about to actually try out the rollercoasters herself. She told The New York Times in 2019, “I don’t ride the rides. I never have. I have a tendency to get motion sickness. Also, I’m a little bit chicken. With all my hair I got so much to lose, like my wig or my shoes. I don’t like to get messed up.” Makes sense!

She turned down Elvis

Dolly once got a chance to work with Elvis himself… but she put her principles ahead of all else. You see, the King wanted to create his own version of “I Will Always Love You.” Sounds reasonable, so what was the catch? Well, when Elvis’ famously ruthless manager Colonel Tom Parker called Dolly about the deal, he told her that she would get only half the publishing rights to the cover. Naturally, the savvy businesswoman refused those terms.

She’s in the Guinness World Records book

Dolly has practically every other award under the sun, so why not a couple of world records as well? Yep, she has two. Dolly can boast of having the “Most Hits on U.S. Hot Country Songs Chart by a Female Artist” and “Most Decades with a Top 20 Hit on the U.S. Hot Country Songs Chart.” Her trophy cabinet must be absolutely heaving.

She was once rescued by the family cow

When Dolly was very young, the singer found herself entranced by a monarch butterfly. The only problem? She followed the colorful insect so far away from her home that she ultimately got lost. Luckily, a cow named Bessie came to the rescue – well, sort of. Basically, Dolly just held onto the animal’s collar and got quite literally dragged back to her family. And despite it all, she still loves butterflies.

She’s Miley Cyrus’ godmother

Yes, Miley Cyrus learned from the best in the business! Dolly is her unofficial godmother and has been there for her since day one. In 2019 the country icon told Robin Roberts, “[Miley’s] father’s a friend of mine, and when she was born, he said, ‘You just have to be her godmother.’ And I said, ‘I accept.’ We never did do a big ceremony, but I’m so proud of her, love her, and she’s just like one of my own.”

She’s a songwriter above all else

Dolly may have many strings to her bow, but there’s one she prefers above all else. In her 2020 book Songteller, the star declared, “My name is Dolly Parton, and I am a songwriter… If I had to choose just one thing to be, I would choose to be a songwriter.” The singer added that if given the choice she could “happily just sit in [her] house forever, enjoy life and write songs.”

She once made Stephen Colbert cry

Lots of people have been deeply touched by Dolly’s singing, and that includes Stephen Colbert. Yes, when the star appeared on Colbert’s show in October 2020, she sang a version of “Bury Me Beneath the Willow” that reduced the usually acerbic late-night host to tears. Dolly was unflappable, though, and merely quipped, “I better hush before you cry yourself to death and you can’t finish the show!”

She sleeps with her makeup on

You probably haven’t seen Dolly without makeup, and for good reason: the star keeps a full face on even when she sleeps! In 2019 she told The New York Times, “You never know if you’re going to wreck the [tour] bus, you never know if you’re going to be somewhere in a hotel and there’s going to be a fire. So I leave my makeup on at night and clean my face in the morning.”

She believes she got her business talents from her father

Dolly has a great respect for the man who raised her. In 2017 she told Maverick magazine, “Daddy was not educated at all, but [he] had horse sense. That’s what we call it in the country, they call it street smart in the cities. That innate knowledge of what to do, what not to do, how to bargain, how to barter... My daddy was great at that. So, I got my business sense from my dad.”

‘Jolene’ is loosely based on a true story

Everyone knows the story of Dolly’s smash hit “Jolene.” But the singer/songwriter actually based the tale on something that really happened to her – well, pretty much. In 2008 she told the radio show All Things Considered that once a redheaded bank teller had a pretty intense crush on her husband. And although the woman didn’t actually come between Dolly and Carl, that threat of having a man seduced away was the inspiration behind the song.

She’s not overly bothered by comments about her breasts

During a 1980 interview with Roger Ebert, Dolly chatted about her most famous assets. The star was asked, “Do you get bothered by constant references to your bust size?” And she coolly answered, “It don’t bother me so much unless people dwell on it… If someone gets really carried away, well, I sort of pity him. Cause it’s his problem, not mine. Other than that, I’m a good sport. I know some of the best Dolly Parton jokes. I made ’em up myself.”

Her first crush was Johnny Cash

Growing up, Dolly had a crush on another music legend: Johnny Cash. In 2012 she explained to Nightline that when she first saw her fellow country star, it was “when I first knew about sex appeal – someone striking and made me feel something inside.” Dolly continued, “[Johnny] had this tic when he moved his shoulder… And it was still sexy. It still got to me.”

She wears high heels almost all the time

Dolly loves standing a little taller – which makes sense, as she only comes in at a petite 5 feet! During a 2020 chat with RuPaul for Marie Claire, the star revealed how she adds those extra few inches. Dolly explained, “I actually do wear high heels most of the time. They’re not always as high as the ones I wear for show… I have to wear heels in order to reach my cabinets.” But she doesn’t just do it out of necessity. The singer added, “I always enjoy wearing the shoes too, and I just feel more like me.”

She has tattoos to cover up scars

You probably won’t have seen them, but Dolly has several tattoos on her body. Yes, we’re shocked too! In 2017 she told Vanity Fair that she had used the designs to cover up keloid scar tissue, although she didn’t like to “make a big to-do” of it. What else do we know? Well, apparently, all of her pieces of body art are in pastel colors.

Her father couldn’t read

Dolly’s father never got a proper education – which meant in turn that he couldn’t read. And in a 2020 interview with The Irish Times newspaper, the musical icon remembered how her dad had been embarrassed by this fact, although she’d had some words of sage advice in return. Dolly claimed that she had explained to her father, “Daddy, there’s a lot of people who can’t read or write. It doesn’t make you any less of a person or any less of a man.” Now, the star is fiercely focused on improving childhood literacy.

She based her look on a “tramp”

Dolly’s always been open about the origins of her glamorous – and sometimes slightly risqué – image. And in October 2020 she retold that tale to Wired. The star revealed that she had based her aesthetic on a lady labeled the “town tramp” back in Tennessee. But while others derided this woman as cheap, the young Dolly was entranced. The star explained, “I thought [that] she was so beautiful, [but] everybody used to say, ‘Oh, she ain’t nothin’ but trash.’ And I used to say, ‘Well, that’s what I’m gonna be when I grow up — trash!’” Dolly added, “But I like to think I’m a little more than that.” Yes, she definitely is.

Her uncle encouraged her to be a musician

Dolly Parton’s family were always supportive of her musical ambitions, but one person in particular took on a mentor role. In 2020 Dolly told the newspaper USA Today, “I had an uncle – Bill Owens – [who] used to take me around to different places to sing. He had taught me all the chords on the guitar, because he saw early on that I was serious about my singing.”

Her favorite color is white

In 2020 Dolly answered some “most searched questions” about her for Wired’s YouTube channel. And one of them involved her favorite hue. Dolly said, “Well, you know what, my favorite color is a no-color, it’s white. I love to wear white when I’m performing on stage. It just makes me feel like all light and airy.” She definitely looks good in it, too.

She always knew her friend Lily Tomlin was gay

Dolly starred alongside actress Lily Tomlin in the movie 9 to 5. Then when the latter came out as a lesbian in 2013, the former claimed that she had known all along. Dolly told The Guardian newspaper in 2019, “All of us knew Lily was gay for years… I know that her mother was a southern woman and a lot of people don’t accept it, and a lot of people have suffered their whole lives because they can’t be who they are, and I understand that, too.”

‘I’m 16’ was inspired by her sister

Dolly told the BBC website in 2016 about where “I’m 16” came from. She said, “[My sister] had a couple of bad relationships and she thought it wasn’t meant for her to have true love. Then all of a sudden, in her 60s, she met someone and they fell in love, and it’s just like they were born again… We said, ‘Look at her, she thinks she’s 16!’ And all of a sudden I heard the song in my head.”

She thanks God every morning

Spirituality is apparently a major part of Dolly’s life. She told Marie Claire in 2020, “Every single day, before I do anything, I wake up and I thank God for the night and ask him to bless the day and to bring all the right things... all the wrong people out of my life, and bring all the right stuff in. And just to guide me, lead me.”

She uses her husband’s last name in private

Imagine a world where Dolly Parton was known as “Dolly Dean!” That’s what would have happened if she’d taken the last name of her husband Carl Dean. But the singer does actually use it in private – “Dolly Parton Dean” is on her passport, for example. She joked to The Guardian newspaper in 2014, “Anyway, if I had chosen the name Dolly Dean… I’d have been Double D. Again!”

She’s happy to be called a ‘hillbilly’

In 2014 Dolly told Southern Living magazine that she considered the word “hillbilly” to be a compliment rather than an insult to her. She said of her family, “We were just mountain people. We were really redneck, roughneck, hillbilly people. And I’m proud of it. ‘White trash’ I am.” Now that’s pure Dolly.

She hated her experience on one movie

Back in 1984 Dolly told Interview magazine about her experience filming The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which had come out two years prior. She said, “I loved Burt Reynolds and Jim Nabors and all those people, but at that particular time I was ill, and coming from a Broadway play, we already had everything against us.” She added, “I was happy with the success of it; it was just a hard one to do.”

She was eight before she saw a flush toilet and television

Dolly’s early life wasn’t easy, and she didn’t have access to some of the things other people took for granted. The singer told journalist Lawrence Grobel in 1978, “My aunt had a [flushing] toilet in the bathroom and we were so fascinated… I was afraid to use it. I just thought it was going to suck us right down. She also had the first television we ever saw, too.” Apparently, that was when Dolly was eight years old!

She has a favorite book

Someone who’s promoted reading so much must have a favorite book, right? Dolly told Southern Living magazine in 2014 that hers was The Little Engine That Could. She explained that “it’s a great little inspirational book. It really kinda sums me up pretty good.” It is also the first book in her reading program.

She once pulled a gun

Dolly had an interesting story to share with The Guardian newspaper in 2019. At the age of 19 she went to New York City for the first time, and a man in “a bad area” started harassing her. So Dolly pulled out a pistol and scared him off, yelling, “If you touch me one more time, you’ve had it!” This incident apparently inspired a scene in Dolly’s film 9 to 5, too.

She met her husband at a Laundromat

Carl and Dolly’s love story started in the most unlikely of places. The singer met him at a Why Washy Laundromat on the very first day she arrived in Nashville! In 1984 she joked to Interview magazine, “I met him at the Why Washy and he’s been wishy washy ever since.”

She once hosted SNL

Dolly Parton has been parodied on Saturday Night Live a few times, but did you know she actually hosted the show as well? Dolly was the leading lady in April 1989, and she wasn’t afraid to poke fun at herself. One of the sketches on that night was called “Planet of the Enormous Hooters.”

She loves Adele

In Dolly’s song “Head Over High Heels” she sings about painting her eyes “like Adele.” And it turns out that the country legend really adores her. She told the BBC News website in 2016, “Everyone loves Adele. With all my little nieces, it's all ‘Adele this’ and ‘Adele that!’” Later on she was asked who she’d put in a “legends slot” at Glastonbury and answered, “Probably Adele.”

People thought Dollywood wouldn’t succeed

Dollywood celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010, but not everyone thought the project would get that far. That year the eponymous singer told Entertainment Weekly magazine that “a lot of business-people said that I was gonna lose my a** when I launched.” She then joked, in true Dolly style, “And I guess I did! Because did you see some of my pictures from just before I opened the park? I definitely lost some of my a** in the last 25 years!”

Her favorite food is potatoes

During her 2020 Wired interview, Dolly enthused about her all-time favorite food. She said, “Every diet I ever fell off of has been because of a potato. Either French fries, or mashed potatoes, or baked potatoes. Potato, potato, potato! I never met a spud I didn’t like.” She can cook them for herself, too.

She had to sleep in the same bed as her siblings

In 1978 Dolly shared some of the messier details of her life with journalist Lawrence Grobel. She told him that while growing up she had to share a bed with “three or four” of her siblings, and the younger kids would have accidents at night. Heartrendingly, she added, “That was the only warm thing we knew in the winter time.”

She doesn’t consider herself a feminist

Dolly isn’t sure about the label “feminist.” She told The Guardian newspaper in 2019, “I must be if being a feminist means I’m all for women, yes. But I don’t feel I have to march, hold up a sign or label myself. I think the way I have conducted my life and my business and myself speaks for itself. I don’t think of it as being feminist.”

She doesn’t Google herself

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering how incredibly famous she is, Dolly Parton doesn’t look herself up on the internet. She told Wired in 2020, “I don’t Google myself because I pretty much know what I’m up to and if I don’t know all I gotta do is pick up a National Enquirer magazine.”

When Dolly told her peers she was going to be a star, they laughed

Dolly remembered her high school graduation when she spoke to USA Today in 2020. Everyone stated their ambition, and hers was “I’m going to Nashville to be a star.” After the star said that, “There was a lot of laughter, and it kind of embarrassed me, because to me, that was what I was going to do.” And she did it!