Dolly Parton: how old is country singer on her birthday, what songs is she famous for - and best quotes

Legendary country singer Dolly Parton recently celebrated her birthday, with thousands wishing the multi-Grammy Award winner a happy birthday online.

On 19 January, Parton turned 76-years-old, having been born in 1946 in Tennessee. She is the fourth of 12 children - her siblings are: Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Robert Lee, Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randle Huston, Larry Gerald, twins Floyd Estel and Frieda Estelle, and Rachel Ann.

She celebrated her birthday by tweeting a photo of her wearing a bright pink suit and skirt, writing: “Just hangin’ out in my birthday suit!”

Is Dolly Parton married?

Parton married husband Carl Thomas Dean, also from Tennessee, on 30 May 1966. Her relationship with her husband has always remained highly private, with Dean rarely seen in public with his wife.

The pair met when Parton was 18 and Dean 21, outside their local laundromat in Nashville. Two years later they were married, shortly after Parton had released her first album.

Choosing to keep out the limelight, Dean focused on running his asphalt business, from which he has now retired, and has actually only seen Parton perform a handful of times.

Speaking to Ellen DeGeneres during an interview, Parton said: “No, he doesn’t like to do that. He gets nervous seeing me perform. It’s almost like seeing your kid in a recital.

“He’s afraid I’ll mess up. Actually, he has seen me a time or two and it did relax him a little. He saw that I do mess up and it’s okay because people are not gonna punish me for it.”

In 2016, Parton and Dean marked their 50th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows and getting married for a second time.

At the time, Parton said: “We’re going to get married again! I’ll have a beautiful wedding dress, cause I didn’t have a big long wedding dress when we got married, and we’ve got a suit for him, so we’re going to dress up and take a bunch of pictures.”

Dean and Parton do not have any children together, although Parton is godmother to fellow singer Miley Cyrus.

Talking to Billboard about not having children, Parton said: “Early on, when my husband and I were dating, and then when we got married, we just assumed we would have kids. We weren’t doing anything to stop it. In fact, we thought maybe we would. We even had names if we did, but it didn’t turn out that way.

“Now that Carl and I are older, we often say, “Aren’t you glad we didn’t have kids?”. Now we don’t have kids to worry about.”

What songs is she famous for?

Parton is known for a huge variety of songs that she has released over the course of her career, the biggest of which include:

• 9 to 5
• Jolene
• Coat of Many Colours
• I Will Always Love You
• Here You Come AGain
• Two Doors Down
• Islands in the Stream
• It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right
• When I Get Where I’m Going
• Do I Ever Cross Your Mind
• Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You
• But You Know I Love You
• Me and Little Andy
• Applejack
• Heartbreak Express

Parton is set to release her newest album later this year, in March of 2022.

The album, titled Run Rose Run, is a companion album to the novel of the same name which Parton co-authored with James Patterson.

One song from Run Rose Run has already been released - Big Dreams and Faded Jeans - with a total of 12 original songs to feature on it.

According to her website, Run Rose Run, the book is described as “a novel about a young woman who comes to country music’s capital to pursue her music-making dreams”.

It adds: “The source of her heart-wrenching songs is a brutal secret she has tried desperately to hide, but the past she has fled is reaching out to control her future - even if it means destroying everything she has worked for.”

Speaking about the album and the novel, Parton said: “I cannot be more excited about the release of my very first novel Run, Rose, Run with the great James Patterson. I also have a new CD to go along with the book.

“All new songs written based on the characters and situations in the book. I hope you enjoy the book and the songs as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together.”

What are some of her best quotes?

In honour of the iconic country singer, these are some of her best and funniest quotes about life, love, money, her career - and everything else in between.

“I look totally artificial, but I am totally real, as a writer, as a professional, as a human being. A rhinestone shines just as good as a diamond.”

“I was the first woman to burn my bra - it took the fire department four days to put it out.”

“Life is sweeter when you have an attitude of gratitude!”

“After you reach a certain age, they think you’re over. Well, I will never be over. I’ll be making records if I have to sell them out of the trunk of my car. I’ve done that in my past, and I’d do it again.”

“I’ve had to go against all kinds of people through the years just to be myself. I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love.”

“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”

“I look like a woman but I think like a man. I’ve done business with men who think I’m as silly as I look. By the time they realise I’m not, I’ve got the money and gone.”

“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”

“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”

“I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.”

“People say how you stay looking so young? I say, well, good lighting, good doctors, and good makeup.”

“I have to not harden my heart, because I want to stay open to feel things. So when I hurt, I hurt all over. And when I cry, I cry real hard. And when I’m mad, I’m mad all over. I’m just a person; I like to experience whatever the feeling is and whatever I’m going through.”

“I’m not offended by all of the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.”

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

“I tried every diet in the book. I tried some that weren’t in the book. I tried eating the book. It tasted better than most of the diets.”

“I always count my blessings more than I count my money. I don’t work for money. Never did.”

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