Let’s celebrate the incredible life of Dolly Parton with these amazing facts about the legendary icon. Dolly Parton was a country music legend, singer-songwriter, actor, businesswoman and all-round pop culture icon. But how much do you really know about the woman behind the rhinestones? From her incredible career to some seriously surprising moments from her life, these Dolly Parton facts prove there’s much more to her story than big hair and country hits…
She wrote “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” on the same day.
Dolly said she believed she wrote two of her most famous songs during the same songwriting session in 1973. Not a bad day at the office. Pop them both on now and enjoy!
She turned down Elvis Presley!
Elvis wanted to record “I Will Always Love You,” but his manager Colonel Tom Parker demanded half the publishing rights. Dolly refused. Years later, Whitney Houston’s version became one of the biggest-selling singles ever, making Dolly’s decision extremely lucrative.
She has secretly helped educate millions of children
Dolly founded the Imagination Library in 1995, inspired by her father, who couldn’t read or write. The programme mails free books to young children and has now gifted hundreds of millions of books around the world.
She once lost a Dolly Parton lookalike contest!
Dolly has said she entered a Dolly Parton lookalike contest in Los Angeles and lost. She exaggerated her own signature look for the competition, but apparently the judges weren’t convinced. According to Dolly, she even received the least applause of all the contestants. Imagine being told you’re not very good at looking like yourself!
She helped fund the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
In 2020, Dolly donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for coronavirus research. Some of that funding supported research connected with the Moderna vaccine. When she later got vaccinated, she sang a vaccine-themed version of “Jolene.”
There’s a Dolly Parton theme park, and she was one of Tennessee’s biggest employers!
Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, attracts millions of visitors and the wider Dollywood company is a major local employer. Dolly has used its success to invest heavily in the region where she grew up. A true philanthropist, brilliantly talented singer/songwriter/actress and all around incredible woman.
