If you didn't regularly tear up during "I Will Always Love You," that seems almost impossible now. Dolly Parton, an icon of entertainment and generosity, has died at the age of 80.
A musician, actor, producer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, she really was the most beloved figure in the United States. Regardless of age, background, religious views, or taste in music, there really wasn't anyone who didn't love Dolly.
Born dirt poor in rural Tennessee, she began her singing career as a child, eventually becoming one of the best-selling musicians of all time. Anyone who wrote both "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene" – let alone in such close proximity – would have a hall of fame career. But Dolly kept writing, kept recording, kept trying new things, releasing a double album in 2023 and collaborating with stars like Sabrina Carpenter and Pitbull.
It didn't all work. Her variety show Dolly only lasted one season. After early successes in Hollywood with 9 to 5 and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, neither Rhinestone nor Straight Talk are fondly remembered. She only made two more films after that: the barely released comedy Frank McKlusky, C.I. and the dueling choirs movie Joyful Noise. But being part of a movie as beloved as Steel Magnolias makes up for a lot.
Parton won 11 Grammys, three Emmys, a National Medal of Arts, and a Kennedy Center Honor (back when those were still handed out). That she didn't win an Oscar for "9 to 5" might be the Academy's single greatest travesty, though she seemed overjoyed when fellow Tennesseans Three 6 Mafia beat her 25 years later.
While she was an incredible talk show guest, what's most remarkable is how Parton actually used her vast fortune to make the world a better place. She founded the Dollywood Foundation to help students in her hometown stay in school. And the group's Imagination Library program sent millions of books to kids for free every single month. She even donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University to help research of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. To see a wealthy person doing so much good so often, especially in an age when most people of her status seem to be laser-focused on making as much money as possible, is enough to bring a tear to your eye.
There will never be anyone like Dolly ever again. Some artists will probably eclipse her in record sales, and it's possible a celebrity will take up her mantle and use their fortune to worthy causes. But no one will ever have her combination of warmth, humor, faith, beauty, talent, maturity, and generosity. Luckily, we were alive at the same time to experience some of it.
