From being an ally for the queer community to advocating for animals rights, American icon Parton has touched countless lives and has had a lasting impact on the culture of our times
Dolly Parton is a living legend best known for her award-winning career in the music industry, spanning country, pop and rock genres. With signature blonde hair, fabulously campy outfits and standout songs in her arsenal like Jolene and I Will Always Love You—which are popular to this day—she’s built a formidable legacy as a performer, and she shows no signs of slowing down even in her late 70s. Just last year, she released her 49th album Rockstar and a book titled Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones which details her looks and inspirations over the years.
Over the years, she’s also written children’s books, had a species of lichen named after her and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To mark Parton’s birthday on January 19, we celebrate her many contributions to pop culture, from her philanthropy work to her support of LGBTQ+ rights.
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1. As a philanthropist
All her life, Parton has spoken about her experience of growing up poor in East Tennessee. Her tough childhood—she was fourth among 12 children in her family—fortified her determination to support youth across America, Canada and even the UK and Australia via access to education.
In 1988, she started her non-profit organisation, The Dollywood Foundation, to offer scholarships to high school students, and in 1995, she set up her literacy programme, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which mails books to children for free.