Born into relative poverty, Parton was singing and playing gospel music on Knoxville radio by the age of eleven. Upon graduating from high school, she moved to Nashville to launch a career as a country singer. In 1967, she joined Porter Wagoner's Wagon Masters Band. For the next seven years she performed with this group at the Grand Old Opry, in tours and on records. Parton became a solo artist in 1974, very quickly gaining immense popularity as a singer-songwriter. Nationally known as a media celebrity by the late '70s, she appeared frequently on TV specials and talk shows. She debuted onscreen in the film 9 to 5 (1980), for which she received an Oscar nomination as the composer of the title song. Starring or costarring in a handful of other films through the '90s, Parton often composed music for her films. She heads Dolly Parton Enterprises, a $100 million media empire. In 1986 her company opened Dollywood, a theme park celebrating her Smokey Mountain upbringing in Tennessee.
by Rovi
biography
