Dolly Parton rose from rural Sevier County to become a singer, songwriter, actor, businesswoman, and philanthropist who is the most honored female country performer of all time and among the best-selling country artists of the post World War II era. Born Dolly Rebecca Parton on Jan. 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge as the fourth of 12 children, she drew on her family's impoverished circumstances for songs including “Coat of Many Colors,” made her earliest public appearances in church, appeared on Cas Walker's “Farm and Home Hour” in Knoxville by age 10, and released her first record in 1959. After going to Nashville the day after her high school graduation in 1964, she found initial success as a songwriter, then in 1967 joined Porter Wagoner's television show and recorded for RCA Victor Records as both a solo performer and his duet partner. Her first No. 1 country hit, “Joshua,” came in 1971, and after “Jolene” she left Wagoner's show; her 1974 No. 1 song “I Will Always Love You” in February of that year was viewed as confirming her intention to sever her contractual obligations to him. Managed out of Hollywood, she broadened her appeal with the 1977 album Here You Come Again, a No. 1 country album and Top 20 pop album, starred in the film “9 to 5,” whose title song topped the country and pop charts, and in 1983 scored her second and last No. 1 pop hit with “Islands in the Stream,” a duet with Kenny Rogers. In 1992, Whitney Houston's recording of “I Will Always Love You” spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the pop charts and ranked among the Top 10 top selling singles of all time. Parton also opened Dollywood, one of the country's most visited attractions, expanded its offerings, and through the Dollywood Foundation worked to offer scholastic opportunities and medical services to underserved communities. Her later recording career included a return to her Appalachian and bluegrass roots, including the 1999 Grammy-winning Best Bluegrass album The Grass Is Blue, and in 2015 she narrated and wrote the story for “Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors” on NBC-TV. Her honors include nine Grammys, including one for Lifetime Achievement, 10 Country Music Association awards, seven Academy of Country Music awards, three American Music Association awards, nominations for two Emmys, one Tony award, and two Academy Awards, and induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999. She has remained active in music and philanthropy, and her Imagination Library has given more than 100 million books to children around the world.