Dolly Parton

American country singer, songwriter, actress; small, buxom and endearing with a cheerful genuine sweetness. Parton came up from being dirt poor to country music stardom in the 1970s. She crossed over to the pop music charts with her hit from the film, "9 to 5" in 1980. She appeared in hit movies in the '80s and tried her abilities with her own ABC variety show, "Dolly" in the fall of 1987. In 1986, she opened her $75 million amusement park, "Dollywood" in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The Park is as enthusiastically and unashamedly tacky as her own over-the-top image. By 1993, "Dollywood" was racking in $30 million annually.

She has written more than 3,000 songs, including "I Will Always Love You" which Whitney Houston shot up to the top of the pop charts in 1992. She has written her autobiography for Harper Collins, "Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business," 1994.

Parton was one of 12 kids, six of whom were born at home in a two-room cabin in Sevierville, Tennessee. She has written about growing up in a poor and full-of-love family in many of her country songs. As a child, she was fascinated by the look of the town tramp and enjoyed sneaking makeup behind the backs of the strict parents and grandparents. She helped raise five of her brothers and sisters while her parents were busy working on the farm. In 1958, she appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. At 16, she attended Sevier County High School and tried to be a friend to everyone she met. She left home to try her songwriting abilities in Nashville, TN by the time she was 18. As a success, she stayed close to her kin, putting so many of them to work in her various entrepreneurial guises that she handled the support of an estimated 100 relatives.

Parton established her career as a country music performer and songwriter penning songs that were loved and admired by her country contemporaries. She sang with her musical partner, Porter Wagoner, who eventually sued the singer for $1 million.