ACME Dolly Fact Sheet


	Fact Sheet

Full name:	Dolly Rebecca Parton
Birth date:	Jan. 19, 1946
Birthplace:	near Locust Ridge, Tennessee
Hair:	brown (only her wigs are blonde)
Eyes:	blue-green
Height:	5 ft. 1 in.
Spouse:	Carl Dean, married May 30, 1966. They met at a Nashville laundromat on Dolly's first day in town. They have now been married over 40 years.
Children:	None.
Siblings:	11 -- Willadene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Bobby Lee, Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randall Houston, Larry Garrold, twins Floyd Estel and Freida Estelle, Rachel Ann
Education:	Sevier County High School. The day after graduation she moved to Nashville, expecting to become a country star. She did.
Residence:	Brentwood, Tennessee
First instruments:	At age 7, a guitar made from an old mandolin and two bass strings; at age 8, a small Martin guitar from her uncle Bill Owens, a songwriter. Today she plays a 3/4-sized steel string acoustic guitar made by Squire which you can purchase here.
Instruments played:	Dolly is regarded as one of the best female guitar players in Nashville. Even with her very long nails, she holds her own picking with greats such as Chet Atkins. She is also an accomplished banjo picker and plays the autoharp (which she calls a harpsichord) beautifully. She also plays the piano, dulcimer and drums (In high school, she played the snare drum in the marching band, because that was the only instrument which didn't require one to read music, which she never learned to do.). In concert, she's been known to offer a few notes on fiddle, harmonica and pennywhistle, but she may pantomime those. We don’t know if she can really play them or not. Thanks, Duane!
First radio appearance:	at age 10, on a Knoxville radio station with Uncle Bill
First hit:	"Dumb Blonde," 1967
Big break:	replacing Norma Jean as co-host on Porter Wagoner's TV show in 1967; she left the show in 1974
Backup band:	The Blueniques
Grand Ole Opry debut:	Age 13
Movie roles:	9 to 5 (1980); The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982); Rhinestone (1984); Steel Magnolias (1989); Straight Talk (1992); The Beverly Hillbillies (1993)
Television series:	The Porter Wagoner Show, 1967-74, weekly, half-hour syndicated; Dolly 1976-77, weekly, half-hour syndicated, 26 episodes and Dolly! 1987-88, ABC-TV, weekly 60 min, 22 episodes. Dolly! clip Dolly! w/ Merle Haggard
Books written:	Dolly Parton: My Life and Other Unfinished Business (autobiography); Coat of Many Colors (children's book)
Other businesses:	Dollywood; Dolly's Splash Country; Dixie Stampede restaurants (4); Sandollar Productions; Southern Light Films; Velvet Apple Music; Song Yard Music; Dolly Parton Productions; Inca-Hoots and Blue Eye record label
Songs written:	more than 3,000
Biggest song:	Written about Porter Wagoner after she left his show, "I Will Always Love You" was a country chart hit in 1974, 1982 and 1995. Whitney Houston made the song the biggest-selling pop single of 1992.