Dolly Parton - An Icon

 Hi everyone, 

Yesterday we sadly lost 80 year old country music legend, philanthropist and actress Dolly Parton due to cancer. Her family released a statement saying she passed away peacefully surrounded by her loved ones. Millions of people around the world have paused to mourn the amazing person she was. 

I was someone who grew up listening to Dolly and I can confidently say that there was no one who was even came close to her. She was a true legend at her craft. She released numerous songs during her seven-decade career but she is most known for her signature tracks "9 to 5", "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You", which was later covered by the late Whitney Houston, have over a billion streams combined and won her 11 grammy awards. As much as you can hate country music, it's impossible to hate Dolly Parton.

However, Dolly wasn't someone who was born into a famous world, in fact, it was the complete opposite. Born in a one-room cabin in Pittman, Tennessee in 1946, she was the fourth of twelve children to Avie Lee Caroline and Rovert Lee Parton Sr. When Dolly was born, her family was so poor they paid the doctor that delivered her with a bag of cornmeal because it was all they could afford. She always loved performing and sang on her first TV show when she was 10, before her family even owned a television. From that first appearance she never looked back and became the star we know her as today. 

The thing that always stands out to me about Dolly is her heart. As many people love to say "she would be a billionaire, they only thing stopping is her is that she chooses to donate all of her money away". She was so well recognized for this that Jeff Bezos even gave $100 million because he knew she would use it for a good cause. Over the course of her life Dolly has donated: $1 million to COVID-19 research, around $10 million for natural disaster relief and most well known founded her Imagination Library in 1995 that was given away over 300 million free books to children under 5 in order to help with the literacy crisis. Her organization reached places like the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Australia helping millions of kids learn to read. And as these are only the highlights, there are so many more things that you could talk about when it comes to Dolly and philanthropy.  

Dolly Parton was also a well known activist for labour and women's rights, BLM and LGBTQIA+ movements. She famously started in the feminist comedy movie 9 to 5 which she wrote her hit song for and advocated for equal pay and respect for women in workplaces. Dolly was a longtime ally and icon for the LGBTQIA+ community. She even stated once "If I'd been born a man id've been a drag queen" and spoke in a 2017 interview about how Christians should leave the judging up to God instead of doing it themselves. She also regularly hosted "Gay Days" at Dollywood (her theme-park).  In 2020 she said "Do we think are little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!" and this is a stance she has had throughout her entire life. 

As the world gathers to remember Dolly, statements from her goddaughter Miley Cyrus, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Reba Mcentire, Eminem, former presidents Obama, Clinton and Biden have all been released along with thousands of others from personal friends and fans. Even King Charles' guard played 9 to 5 in her memory showing the worldwide impact she had. 

I was someone who really looked up to Dolly Parton (and still am) and this loss is something that really made me want to reflect on Dolly's legacy and share it with all of you because I think that there are so many aspects of her life that deserve to be shared. Rest in Peace Dolly <3