Country music legend Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80 following a battle with cancer, her family announced on Wednesday.
Her family revealed that the global superstar had neglected her own early symptoms while focused on caring for her husband, Carl, who died in March last year. Parton passed away on Tuesday with numerous creative projects still underway.
Parton was one of country music's most celebrated figures, selling more than 100 million records, winning 11 Grammy Awards and achieving 25 number one hits throughout a career spanning six decades.
Journalist Liz Jones recalled spending two hours with the singer backstage at The Turning Stone resort, a dry hotel built on Native American land in upstate New York, when Parton turned 60, an age the star cheerfully exclaimed as "sexty!"
Jones had expected a diva but found a warm person who greeted her with a bear hug, her famous rhinestone-covered bust getting in the way. Parton spotted Jones in the corridor and told her, "I saw you waiting in the corridor and I thought, 'Who is that attractive young woman?'"
When Jones mentioned that she would be in the audience for the show later that evening, Parton replied, "I hope I don't disappoint. I'll try extra hard, Honey!"
Devotion to Marriage and Family
Parton met her husband Carl when she arrived in Nashville at the age of 18, chaperoned by an uncle. Although her songs frequently dealt with heartbreak, she never experienced romantic trouble in her personal life.
The couple remained devoted to each other, ensuring they never spent more than two weeks apart. The marriage succeeded in part because Carl was not involved in the music business and preferred to hear her stories second-hand.
Her family confirmed her death came after she postponed addressing her own health concerns while looking after Carl during his final months. He passed away in March last year.
Parton also revealed that her 1974 hit Jolene was not based on a real rival, explaining she selected the title because it was "a pretty name" after a female bank teller looked at her husband funny.
She maintained an old-fashioned approach to her marriage, never taking the upper hand and refusing to relax about her appearance even at home. "When I'm home, I usually wear make-up because I don't want to go around looking like a slouch for my husband. I work with a lot of stars who come to the studio looking so bad you wouldn't even know them. I think, I wouldn't even look that bad at home!" she said.
Upbringing and Body Image
Born in a one-room cabin near the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, Parton was the fourth of 12 children in a family that ate only what they could catch or grow. "We all thought we were Mama's favourite," she recalled.
That background created a lifelong fear of weight gain, keeping her to small food portions and vital statistics of 40-20-36. "I only eat very small portions. If I am going to a really fine dinner, I won't eat that day… My boobs just look big as they're hanging on an itty bitty person!" she said.
She dismissed rumours that she had surgically removed ribs to slim her waist, stating, "Small waists run in my family."
In her dressing room, Parton looked dispassionately at her reflection, noting her bared shoulders were bony and admitting a dislike for fluorescent lights and bright sunlight. "I see every little thing. I hate fluorescent lights worse than life. Or bright sunlight. But you can't do much about God's spotlight! My shoulders are so bony," she remarked.
Hit Records and Whitney Houston
Parton rejected claims of a rivalry with Whitney Houston, whose 1992 cover of I Will Always Love You for the film The Bodyguard generated more than $6 million (£4.4 million) in royalties for Parton.
"Man, I wanted to kiss her and hug her, jump up and down, 'cause she did such a spectacular job!" Parton said of Houston's iconic performance.
She also expressed compassion regarding Houston's struggles with drugs and alcohol, adding, "Of course I'm not that great of an artist, so I haven't had that same type of pressure, mine was more of a down-home kind of stardom, you know?"
Parton credited her enduring looks to good skin, abstaining from tobacco and alcohol, and minor cosmetic procedures. "I have good skin. Of course I've had nips and tucks here and there, but no doctor can give you good skin. I never smoked or drank alcohol 'cause I know that's very drying. I'll never be at an age where I don't care how I look," she declared.
She was equally frank about her famous blonde wigs, explaining that her natural hair was shoulder-length, kept blonde, and worn in scrunches, adding that her real hair was actually longer than the wig she was wearing during the interview.
Philanthropy and Legacy
Parton worked full-time from the moment she graduated high school. Even at the time of her death on Tuesday, she had more than 100 relatives on her payroll and was overseeing numerous active projects.
Though she never had children of her own, she raised five of her siblings. Her only struggle with depression occurred in 1984 at age 38 following a partial hysterectomy.
Her reluctance to retire stemmed from a deep-seated commitment to supporting her extended family and her confidence in her own survival skills. "I grew up knowing how to raise a garden, how to plan food; I would know how to survive," she explained. "I'm the one with the money, the one who can help. I feel like I have to go to work every day because I have a very large family to support. I can't be selfish and say, 'Oh, I'm taking my money and I'm going to retire' 'cause I could never do that."
Residing in the Nashville area, Parton opened the 25-acre Dollywood amusement park at age 40, helping to revitalise the local economy. Her Dollywood Foundation funds student scholarships and delivers a new book every month to every child born in the county from birth until age five.
"I try to be sharing and giving. They can have half of anything I got, I'm there for them. It's a joy. It gives me a good feeling, like I'm not just taking… Sometimes I wish I didn't worry as much as I do. It's just on a bigger scale with me than it is for normal, regular people," she said.
As her interview concluded, Parton shared a parting wish to continue working that ultimately fell short: "I hope I live to be a hundred. As long as I've got my health and an audience, I'll be out there doing it 'til I fall over."
