Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton, born in a "dirt poor" family with twelve children, as she described it, is certainly one of the most-honored female country performers of all time. She is a singer, songwriter, actress, and philanthropist. She is an American icon and the 'The Queen of Country Music’ with the great ability to tell stories through song.

In the past four-and-a-half decades, she remains one of the most-successful female artists in the history of the country music with 25 number-one singles, and a record 41 top-10 country albums. She has received

- 7 Grammy Awards and a total of 45 nominations
- 3 American Music awards with18 nominations
- 10 Country Music Association awards and 42 nominations
- 7 Academy of Country Music awards and 39 nominations.


Dolly was awarded the Living Legend Medal by the U.S. Library of Congress in 2004 for her contributions to the cultural heritage of the United States. In 2005, she was awarded with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given by the U.S. government for excellence in the arts and is presented by the U.S. President.

Ranked as one of the wealthiest country-music stars, Dolly is also a successful business woman as co-owners of a theme park and a film-and television-production company. She has supported many charitable efforts, including Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library which distributes more than 2.5 million free books to children annually.

Behind her flamboyant dress and voluptuous appearance is her natural talent, perseverance and hardworking. She is well known for her candid comments, including joking about her own physical image, which are always full of wit and wisdom.

“I hope people realize that there is a brain underneath the hair and a heart underneath the boobs.”

“What people do behind closed doors is certainly not my concern unless I’m behind these with them.”

“After Mama gave birth to 12 of us kids, we put her up on a pedestal. It was mostly to keep Daddy away from her.”

“I am more apt to count my blessings than my money.”

In May 2009, Dolly received an honorary doctorate degree in Humane and Musical Letters from the University of Tennessee for "her career not just as a musician and entertainer, but for her role as a cultural ambassador, philanthropist and lifelong advocate for education.” She also gave the Graduating Commencement Address which was about her life lessons, and she encouraged the graduates to dream and care more.

“Do not confuse dreams with wishes. There is a difference. Dreams are where you visualize yourself being successful at what's important to you to accomplish. Now dreams build convictions. Because you work hard to pay the price to make sure that they come true. Wishes are hoping good things will happen to you. But there is no fire in your gut to put everything forth to over come all the obstacles. So you have to dream more. And never ever ever blame somebody else if it doesn't happen. That is in your department.”

“Did you ever notice that there are a whole lot of people that do things just well enough to get by? But, caring is about striving for perfection. It's about how you look. It's about how you prepare. And how you keep your commitments.” “And in my business I truly love and respect everybody in my audience. I've always been so proud of my relationship with my fans. And of course it would just kill me to disappoint them for any reason, because they pay my bills. I always think, these fans are spending their hard earned money on me. So it would just embarrass me, and hurt my feelings as well as theirs, for me to do a mediocre job. So I do my best at all times.”

It may be more proper to end with another quote from Dolly’s speech:

“If you truly care for people, you won't judge them. And then you will learn to appreciate the uniqueness in every single soul.”

Thank you, Dolly!