Trivia

She lost a Dolly Parton lookalike contest.

Dolly wrote two of her biggest hits, "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You", on the same evening (1973).

Dolly recorded the song "I Will Always Love You", which she also wrote, in 1974. She found out that Elvis Presley was interested in singing it as a duet with her; however, she would have to give him 50% of the publishing royalties, as was his custom with any duet he sang. Since she had already published the song herself, giving up those royalties made no sense to her so, despite her intense desire to sing with "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", she declined the request, which turned out to be a multi-million-dollar decision, after the song became a humongous hit when Whitney Houston sang it in Bodyguard (1992) and the single sold over 24 million records worldwide.

Although Parton originally agreed to work with Porter Wagoner for five years, she stayed an extra two years because of her immense respect for him. At the end of the seventh year, Parton and Wagoner argued because she wanted to go out on her own and he wanted her to stay. Eventually, she wrote a song to express how she felt: the eventual megahit "I Will Always Love You".

One of 12 children, she grew up in a one-room cabin in Tennessee.

Her iconic hit song "I Will Always Love You" was voted the No. 1 song on CMT 100 Greatest Love Songs of Country Music (2004).

She and her husband Carl Dean raised five of her younger siblings.

She was unable to have her own children because of an allergic reaction she experienced to birth-control pills when she was younger.

In 1993, she was honored with the Country Music Association's very first "Country Music Honors" Award. As of 2009, she is still the sole recipient of this honor.

In 1978, she became one of the few celebrities to have their own pinball machine. Manufactured by Bally Manufacturing Company. The "Dolly" pinball machine played Dolly's #1 single "Here You Come Again" while the pinball machine was active. This item is a highly sought after piece of Dolly Parton memorabilia.

Her theme park "Dollywood" in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is the most popular tourist attraction in the state according to the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.

Although she was not credited by name, Dolly Parton was one of the executive producers of the cult-classic teen horror series Buffy contre les vampires (1997) through her production partnership (called Sandollar Entertainment) with Sandy Gallin, who had managed Parton's career.

Met her husband Carl Dean at a laundromat.

Created her song "Nine to Five" while on the set of the movie of the same name, Comment se débarrasser de son patron (1980), by tapping her nails.

The world's first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, was named after Dolly Parton.

Co-wrote the song "I Didn't Hear the Thunder (But I Sure Did Feel the Rain)" with late country legend Tammy Wynette.

Her duet "Islands in the Stream" with fellow country singer Kenny Rogers was ranked the #1 duet of all time on CMT 100 Greatest Country Duets of All Time.

The children's television series 1, rue Sésame (1969) introduced a character in homage to Dolly Parton. She had purple skin and blonde hair and went by the name of Polly Darton.

Among 120 celebrities and movie industry executives to receive invitations for membership into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on July 5, 2006. The Academy only allows for 30 new members each year, but in 2006 invited more people for membership in order to replace previous members who passed away or were retiring. Other celebrities receiving invitations include Jake Gyllenhaal, Werner Herzog, Felicity Huffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Terrence Howard, Heath Ledger and Dakota Fanning.

She was Peter Gabriel's original choice to sing the female vocal of the 1986 duet "Don't Give Up" (a UK Top Ten hit in 1986). When Parton turned it down (she didn't know who Gabriel was), Kate Bush recorded it with him instead.

Her father Robert Lee was one of 15 children and her mother Avie Lee (Owens) was one of 10 children.

Ranked #4 on the 40 Greatest Women in Country Music, #3 Loretta Lynn, #2 Tammy Wynette and #1 Patsy Cline.

In 2008, Parton was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel. The highest honor given in the state of Kentucky [USA].

Dolly Parton was awarded the National Medal of Arts (2005).

She was awarded a star on the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee on November 8, 2009.

She has a star on Nashville's Starwalk for Grammy Award Winners. She also has a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, which represents her accomplishments in the field of recording arts.

In 2006, she donated $500,000 to Fort Sanders Medical Center.

Her younger sister Rachel Parton George played her character from the movie Comment se débarrasser de son patron (1980) on the sitcom of the same name.

A bronze sculpture of her sits on the courthouse lawn in her hometown Sevierville, Tennessee.

Dolly Parton, Steven Spielberg, Smokey Robinson, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and conductor Zubin Mehta were awarded Kennedy Center Honors (2006).

Dolly's greatest-hits compilation album "The Very Best of Dolly Parton" (2007), released in Europe as part of the promotional campaign for her 2007 European Tour, debuted at #9 on the UK Pop Chart, her first album to break the Top-10 Pop Albums Chart in the United Kingdom. The CD also debuted at Number 1 on the UK Country Albums Chart.

Recipient of a 2010 Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award on December 23, 2010.

Inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry on January 4, 1969.

When Drew Barrymore spoke about her film Méli-mélo (1998) before its release, she revealed that her character was a huge fan of Dolly Parton. She said that several of Parton's songs would appear in the film, and that they spent a two-day shoot at Dollywood. When the film was finally released, the only reference to Dolly Parton was on the walls of Drew's bedroom, which are covered with posters and pictures of Dolly.

She was named 4th Sexiest Woman in CMT list of the 20 sexiest women in Country Music.

Owner/namesake of the Smoky Mountain area theme park "Dollywood", located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Covered the song "Shine" by the rock band Collective Soul, turning the alternative-rock ballad into a bluegrass song.

In 2006, she was awarded the Lindy Boggs Award from the Stennis Center for Public Service. She becomes the first nonpolitical recipient.

On August 9, 1995, Parton was awarded the Outstanding Service to Youth Award from the Tennessee District - Optimist International.

Created the "My People Fund" to raise money for victims of the wildfires that have ravaged the Great Smokey Mountains region which caused 2,000 people to be evacuated, and 100 buildings being destroyed. (December 2006)

During the early 1990s, she filmed a series of sitcom pilots for CBS-TV. In 1994, "Heavens to Betsy" was made, starring Dolly and Constance Shulman; six episodes were completed before the sitcom was scrapped and the story revamped for the Movie of the Week Unlikely Angel (1996). Following the television movie, she was to develop a sitcom where she would star as a "caterer to the stars", which would have aired as Mindin' My Own Business (1996), but the pilot was never broadcast.

Sang with Solomon Burke on his CD "Nashville" (2006). The two did a duet on the Dolly written track "Tomorrow is Forever". The song was originally recorded by Parton and Porter Wagoner in 1969 and reached #9 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.

She was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award (Best Score for a Musical) for her work on "9 to 5: The Musical". She did not win the honor. The Tony Award was bestowed to the score writers of the Broadway musical "Next to Normal".

Sister of Willadeene Parton, Randy Parton and Stella Parton.

Had such a miserable time filming of Franc-parler (1992), that she effectively retired from big-screen acting. All her work since has been television work or appearances as herself.

She has earned five BMI Million-Air (or more) Performance Awards and numerous BMI Songwriter Citations of Achievement. Her classic hit song "I Will Always Love You" is currently certified with a Six Million-Air award, meaning it has been played on radio and television over six million times. She was also honored with the prestigious BMI Icon Award (2003).

Ranked #34 on VH1's Greatest Women of Rock N Roll

Awarded the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award from the Academy of Country Music (2007). This lifetime achievement award is presented to the pioneers of country music who have made lasting contributions to the genre.

Her Oscar nominated song "Nine to Five" from Comment se débarrasser de son patron (1980) was ranked #78 while her songwriting contribution, "I Will Always Love You", from Bodyguard (1992) came in at #65 on the American Film Institute's list of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies (2004).

Parton released her first ever officially licensed calendar for the 2011 year. (December 2010)