Dolly Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is a Grammy Award-winning country music singer/songwriter, composer, author, actress and philanthropist. She remains one of the most successful female country artists in history, with 25 number-one singles (a record for a female country artist) and 41 top-10 country albums (a record for any country artist).

Her 1967 hit "Dumb Blonde" caught Porter Wagoner's ear, and he hired Parton to appear on his television show, where their duet numbers became famous. By the time her "Jolene" reached number one in 1974, Parton's fame had overshadowed the boss', and she had struck out on her own, though still recording duets with him.

During the mid-'70s, she established herself as a country superstar, crossing over into the pop mainstream in the early '80s, when she began singing pop as well as country. In the early '80s, she also began appearing in movies, most notably the hit 9 to 5. She dominated the charts for most of the '80's and into the mid '90s before she was blindsided by the "new country revolution". With no outlet for her music, she trudged on and continued to release albums. She experienced a rebirth of sorts with more bluegrass and acoustic flavored renderings in the late '90s and early '00s.

She is known for her distinctive mountain soprano, her curvaceous figure and sometimes bawdy humor, as well as her flamboyant dress sense.