Dolly Parton, country music legend, dies at age 80

Dolly Parton, one of the most groundbreaking and successful musicians in the history of country music, with a hitmaking career that spanned six decades and launched her into TV and movie stardom, has died, her family announced Tuesday. She was 80.

Since breaking onto the country music scene with her 1967 debut "Hello, I'm Dolly," Parton never seemed to slow down, releasing nearly 50 studio albums and selling over 100 million records.

But she treated her success with a certain modesty. In 2022, when she was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, she tried to pull herself out of the running , saying she didn't feel that she had "earned that right." Her peers and fans vehemently disagreed .

In a 2022 interview on "CBS Mornings," she called it "an honor" to have so many loyal fans, but added that "it scares me to death sometimes. I'm always sayin' I'm not all that, I'm even not all there sometimes."

Born on Jan. 19, 1946, Parton grew up in poverty in rural Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children.

"Well, what they call 'white trash,' I don't like anybody else calling me that, but to be called a hillbilly, I always take pride in that," she told CBS News in a 2016 interview.

She began songwriting at a young age and got her break in 1966 when she moved to Nashville and was given a spot on country singer Porter Wagoner's variety show, which she kept for seven years.

She explained that she honed her distinctive look and style from a woman she knew who she described as a "town tramp" — upending expectations of how she should look and dress.

"And she wore the makeup, red nails, red high heels, tight clothes," Parton told CBS News. "I just thought she was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. And people say, 'Oh, she ain't nothing but trash.' But in my mind, I thought, 'That's what I'm going to be when I grow up.'"

Her first No. 1 country hit came in 1970 with "Joshua," but it was 1973's "Jolene" that made her a household name.

She said the song came about after meeting a young fan one night after a performance.

"I remember this little redheaded girl with green eyes, prettiest little thing, and I said, 'Well, what's your name?' And she said, 'Jolene.' I said, 'I love that name.' All the way back to the bus I was [singing], 'Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,' so I wouldn't forget the name," Parton told CBS News in 2019.

After a string of successful albums in the 1970s, she set her sights on Hollywood, making her major film debut in the 1980 feminist comedy classic "9 to 5," alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, playing Doralee, a secretary who takes on her sexist boss. The movie was a huge hit and also earned Parton an Oscar nomination for the song of the same name.

Two years later, she starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," which garnered her a Golden Globe nomination for best actress.