About Me
She was born in Sevierville, Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children born to Robert Lee Parton and Avie Lee Owens. Her siblings are Willadeene Parton (a poet), David Parton, Denver Parton, Bobby Parton, Stella Parton (a singer), Cassie Parton, Larry Parton (who died shortly after birth), Randy Parton (a singer), twins Floyd Parton (a songwriter) and Freida Parton (a singer), and Rachel Dennison (an actress).Her family was, as she described them, "dirt poor", [1] and lived in a rustic, dilapidated one-room cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains, near Locust Ridge, Tennessee. Parton's parents were parishioners in the Assembly of God Church, a Pentecostal denomination, and music was a very large part of her church experience. She once told an interviewer that her grandfather was a Pentecostal "holy roller" preacher [2]. Today, when appearing in live concerts, she frequently performs spiritual songs. (Parton, however, professes no denomination, claiming only to be Christian while adding that she believes that all the Earth's people are God's children.)
On May 30, 1966, at the age of 20, she married Carl Dean in Ringgold, Georgia. She met Dean on her first day in Nashville, at age 18, at the Wishy-Washy Laundromat. His very first words to her were: "You're gonna get sunburnt out there, little lady." [3] Dean, who runs an asphalt-paving business in Nashville, has always shunned publicity and rarely accompanies her to any events. The couple have raised several of Dolly's younger siblings at their home in Nashville. Dean and Parton have no children together. Dolly is the godmother of Miley Cyrus.[
