In the yard of her home in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee – with beds made of straw, no running water, gas or electricity – Dolly Parton gave her earliest performances, singing to ‘human, animal, or dirt’.
Her fame and fortune have taken her far beyond what she dreamed of as the fourth oldest of 12 children, but it’s that family network which she will be leaning on now more than ever after the death of her beloved husband of 60 years, Carl Dean, who has died aged 82.
The country legend, 79, and her ‘reclusive’ partner never had children – Dolly will likely be turning to her seven surviving siblings as a source of support following the devastating news.
Dolly and her siblings – Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Bobby Lee, Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randel Huston ‘Randy,’ Larry Gerald, twins Estel Floyd and Freida Estelle, and Rachel Ann – bonded over a shared love of folklore and ballads while growing up, but their bond ran deeper than a shared love of music.
Their mother Avie Lee often struggled with her mental health and their father Robert Lee Parton was a drinker, meaning Dolly and her siblings Stella and ‘second mother’ Willadeene were forced to parent the younger ones.
As was tpyical among poor Appalachian communities, which failed to feel the benefits of the post-war economic boom, they were scratching a living from the land and when Avie went into labour, her husband had to give the local doctor a bag of grain to persuade him to deliver her.
But when Dolly was launched to fame on The Porter Wagoner Show in 1967, her relationship with her siblings – notably fellow singer Stella – suffered as a result.
After suffering the devastating loss of her husband Carl Dean, Dolly Parton may look to her siblings for support (pictured together)
Dolly pictured when she was three years old in 1949 (left). The singer and her younger sister Stella have had more of a strained relationship due to Dolly’s music career. Pictured right in 2015
Dolly (upper right, back) with her family at Christmas in 1960. Even now, she continues her mother’s tradition of making dumplings for her siblings during the festive period
During childhood, however, the siblings were close – not that they had a choice in their tightly packed household.
The ‘poor but proud’ family lived in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee, leading a simple life – with beds made of straw, no running water, gas or electricity.
Mental health issues thwarted their mother, leaving Stella to care for the younger children.
Meanwhile, Willadeene, the eldest of the siblings, would act as a ‘second mother’ to the rest.
Born in March 1940, Willadene found herself responsible for the care, management and guidance of the others, applying perfume to the girls before they went out.
Dolly and Stella, who was four years younger, also helped to parent the younger ones with music as a shared bond.
‘I grew up in a very musical family, all my mother’s people were very musical, so I was always around people playing instruments and singing, and my mom singing the old songs,’ Dolly told PEOPLE magazine in 2020.
‘So that was just part of my being and I just knew I loved it. I just continued doing that, it was just a natural thing.’
Growing up, Dolly and her siblings were very close, bonding over communal hardship and love of song. Pictured L to R: Stella, Frieda, Dolly and Floyd in 1981
Cassie, Dolly and Rachel are pictured in Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas, all playing themselves
Dolly Parton and Husband Carl Thomas Dean. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony attended by immediate family
In an Instagram statement, the legendary singer revealed that Carl passed away in Nashville on March 3rd, as she reflected on the ‘many wonderful years’ the pair spent together
But despite being in the same boat in their early lives, Stella felt she was ‘left behind’ when Dolly pursued stardom in a clash that even saw the country star suggest her younger sister should change her name if she also wanted to go down the music route.
Born on May 4, 1949, Dolly’s younger sister would also seek out a career in the music industry, going on to release 36 albums.
But tales told in Stella’s 2011 memoir Tell It Sister, Tell It: Memories, Music and Miracles showed that their relationship could be strained.
While Dolly rose to childhood fame in the southern state Stella recalled being pushed to the sidelines.
‘In my own mind I remain a little mountain girl sitting in the front yard with my big sister Dolly, making up songs,’ she wrote.
‘One of my earliest memories is of Dolly’s impatience with me because I couldn’t come up with a satisfactory line in one of these early collaborations. I think I was always a pain in her neck.
‘All I wanted was to be included in what she was doing. All she wanted was for me to get lost.’
Stella’s twenties were marred by abusive relationships and she survived a brutal attempted rape by a Tennessee official when she was 24.
The siblings have also faced tragic losses, including Randy, a performer, who died of cancer in 2021 at 67
Dolly paid tribute to her beloved brother when he passed away
Their mother Avie Lee Parton (pictured with Dolly) often struggled with their mental health, meaning the siblings would look after each other
Dolly was clearly close to her father Robert (pictured) and still regularly posts tributes to him on Instagram
‘He slapped me so hard he broke my nose,’ Stella recounted of the attack.
‘You can still see the scar on my face today – where the bone popped through the flesh.’
While Dolly rose to mega-stardom and multi-million dollar record deals Stella struggled to achieve her own profession in county music.
‘Either I can allow it [having a famous sister] to be a curse or I can find the blessing in it,’ she writes.
‘Yes, doors have been slammed in my face and there are those who resent me today because they think: ‘How dare she try and have a career with Dolly being so successful – I bet she gets handouts all the time – I bet Dolly does everything for her.”
In the early years of their careers Stella recalls an insulting incident when their uncle, who was helping to manage Dolly, tried to force her out of the music industry all together.
‘I remember it as if it was yesterday,’ writes Stella who was raising a baby as a single mother at the time.
‘He said: “You need to take that kid of yours and go back home and work in the beauty shop where you belong”.’
These days, Dolly and her sister Rachel appear closer than ever after releasing a cookbook together
Dolly recently shared a throwback picture with Rachel, joking that it was taken ‘just a few years ago’
The uncle had decided that it would ‘hurt Dolly’s music career’ if Stella was in the music business too.
Meanwhile Dolly spoke up and said: ‘Well Stella, if you are going to sing then you need to change your name,’ says the book.
Stella was ‘heartbroken’ by the knockback but she persisted regardless – she went on to release 31 chart singles and tour internationally.
She adds: ‘People don’t really know my story. If you knew you’d be surprised not jealous. There are so many awkward situations to maneuver because of my relationship with my sister.
‘People think I should be able to cut right to the front of the line because Dolly has been at the top of her game so long.’
Her feelings of ‘exclusion’ from Dolly in her younger years have left a mark: ‘Dolly found every reason in the world to keep me as far away as possible and over the years I finally gave up and let her have it.
But any previous falling out seems to have been put to bed and Stella has been filled with nothing but praise for her older sister. Pictured in 2014
However, Stella clearly loves and respects her sister dearly – and will likely be a vital supporting figure for Dolly in the coming months, despite their past troubles.
‘Dolly has done more to improve the lives of people in East Tennessee than anyone else I can think of in the last fifty years,’ she writes.
She previously said: ‘They thought I’d be a threat to my sister if I continued to sing,’ says Stella, who is four years younger than Dolly.
‘When I was told to change my name, I felt like my birthright was being taken. But I’ve forgiven all of that now. I think Dolly felt helpless and I’m sure it confused her, as at that time she was still a little girl herself. We were just young women, sisters, being pitted against each other.’
‘We’ve always had a big sister/little sister relationship, but it’s very loving,’ she said. ‘We are very protective of each other.
‘I never saw myself as an aspiring star, just a working artist and single mother. There were always comparisons, though.’
Once, she said, a music promoter even told her that to compete with Dolly and her famously generous embonpoint, she needed to get a breast enlargement. She refused.
To most people, it seems like Dolly enjoys the closest relationship of all with her youngest sister Rachel, 65, who was born on August 31, 1959.
Photograph of Dolly Parton at age 16 As a Sophomore in High School in 1962
Stella, Freida and Dolly Parton at Bearsville Studios in North Hollywood, California for the recording of Freida Parton’s Self-Titled Album-‘Freida Parton’ on January 15, 1981
Rachel moved in with her big sister aged just 13 and dropped out of school in the eighth grade to join her on the road full time.
Rachel later became an actress in the ABC sitcom 9 to 5, based on her sister’s musical, and even married Dolly’s pianist Richard Dennison, with whom she shares a daughter, Hannah.
But prior to her acting career, Rachel was firmly by Dolly’s side as her most loyal assistant, taking on roles from anything from being her make-up artist to being her back-up singer.
The two have become even closer in recent years, spending more time together after releasing a cookbook, Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year Of Meals in December, including 80 family recipes.
As a result, she’s now a regular feature on Dolly’s Instagram account, posing together in several glamorous photoshoots to promote the book.
The sisters appeared to spend Christmas together this year, with Dolly writing: ‘As we’ve spent time together creating this year of meals and recipes to share with you, we’ve realized they reflect a lifetime of family, friends and food.
‘Rachel and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas Eve.’
To welcome in 2025, Dolly emphasised the importance of spending time with ‘those you love’, sharing a sweet photograph with Rachel as the played the piano together.
Last April, Dolly posted a throwback picture, joking: ‘My sister Rachel and I just a few years ago. And now we’re writing a cookbook together!’
Like their older sister Willadeene, several of Dolly’s siblings have chosen lives outside of the spotlight – and it’s not known how close they are these days.
Robert and Coy, Dolly’s brothers, have largely kept out of the spotlight.
Meanwhile Cassie, born February 1951, was part of a gospel group with her siblings and appeared in Dolly’s show My People: Dolly’s Letter Home as a vocalist in 2013, according to Knox News.
But since marrying her husband Larry Seaver, and welcoming children Bryan and Rebecca, Cassie has retreated from the public eye, though she has on occasion been pictured with her famous sibling.
Frieda has opted for a drastically different career to that of her siblings, becoming an ordained minister after her early pursuits of being in a punk band, and a back-up singer on some of Dolly’s albums.
However, Dolly and Frieda’s relationship – though largely kept out of the public eye – is known to be close.
Frieda’s daughter Andersen told Knox News previously about her close bond with her older sister, saying: ‘My mom’s a songwriter, and I grew up with someone who was always writing and feeling and putting it out on paper and teaching me how to play guitar.
‘And she was so influential in that, and she was so influenced by her big sister, so it just sort of was like this little step ladder situation.’
With such a big family, the siblings have experienced a series of tragedies over the years.
Most recently, Dolly’s beloved brother David passed away in November aged 82.
Announcing his death, Stella wrote on Twitter: ‘It’s never easy to say goodbye to a loved one but he got his angel wings and is now at peace.’
Fans quickly flooded the comments section with condolences and words of support for the Parton family.
‘So sorry for your loss, and how lucky he was to have two amazing sisters,’ wrote one follower.
Another shared, ‘May his soul rest in peace and may his memory be with you forever.’
David, survived by his wife of 45 years Kay, had led a private life, steering clear of the fame that defined much of his family’s legacy in entertainment.
Dolly’s older sister Willadeene (centre) was described as being like a ‘second mother’ to the children growing up. Pictured with the cast of Big River in New York, 1985
He ‘retired from Simpson Construction as a bridge builder superintendent; and worked on many of the bridges in the Kingsport, Johnson City, and Knoxville areas,’ according to his obituary.
His passing marked the fourth loss of a brother in the Parton family.
The youngest sibling, Larry, died shortly after birth in 1955, while Floyd, a songwriter, passed in 2018 at 61, and Randy, a performer, died of cancer in 2021 at 67.
Despite his tragically short life, Larry was the subject of Dolly’s movie Coat Of Many Colours and hit of the same name.
Dolly was just nine at the time of his death and took it hard, saying she ‘experienced a lot of heartache’.
She told Fox News: ‘My mother, through the years, when we were born, since there were so many of us, used to say, “This one is gonna be you baby”.
‘That just meant that you got to take extra care of it. You have got to get up with it at night and rock it back and forth. This particular baby that passed away in the movie was my baby.
‘All things are hard, but that is what makes your memories. That is what makes you who and what you are.’
Randy, the eighth Parton child, passed away in 2021 following a battle with cancer.
Like Dolly, he also had a prosperous career in music, with hits including ‘Hold Me Like You Never Had Me’ and ‘Shot Full of Love.’ He also featured in a duet with Dolly called Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You – and the pair were believed to have a mutual admiration for one another.
‘My brother Randy has lost his battle with cancer,’ Dolly wrote on Instagram at the time.
‘The family and I are grieving his loss but we know he is in a better place than we are at this time.
‘We are a family of faith and we believe that he is safe with God and that he is joined by members of the family that have gone on before and have welcomed him with joy and open arms.
‘Randy was a great singer, writer, and entertainer. He sang, played guitar and bass in my band for many years. He headed his own show at Dollywood since it opened in 1986. He’s had several chart records of his own, but his duet with me on ‘Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You’ will always be a highlight in my own career.
‘’You Are My Christmas,’ our duet on my latest Christmas album, joined with his daughter Heidi, will always be a favorite. It was his last musical recording and he shined on it just like he’s shining in heaven now.’
For new year, Dolly emphasised the importance of spending time with loved ones, sharing a picture with Rachel
Dolly and Rachel have recently released a cookbook together – Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year Of Meals
Floyd, Frieda’s twin, wrote the duets Rockin’ Years and Nickels And Dimes with his sister – and also passed away December 2018 aged 61.
Mourning her brother, Dolly honoured him with a song at a private memorial service afterwards.
In a statement at the time, the family said: ‘Dolly, and the entire Parton Family, wish to thank everyone for their kindness. Yesterday, we laid our sweet baby brother to rest. We all sang his lovely song, ‘Rockin’ Years,’ together as a family at the service to say goodbye to him. He lived a short life of love and beautiful songs.’
The siblings lost their father, Robert Lee Parton, in 2000, and their mother, Avie Lee Parton, in 2003.
It’s not known when they last met all together, but they are these days thought to be close.
Dolly even cooks dumplings for her siblings every Christmas, inspired by a dish made by her late mother.
In 2017, she posted a photo of the family all together to celebrate National Siblings Day.
They reunited in 2015 to attend the release of Coat Of Many Colors, a tale depicting their poverty-stricken upbringing.
And with former resentments resolved and needing each other’s support more than ever, Dolly’s seven siblings may just be what she needs to resolve old wounds.
