The voluptuous blonde bombshell Dolly Parton is hands-down the most distinguished female country act in history, but her notorious Barbie physicality is absolutely no match for the ageless singer's vivid personality and untouchable music career, which shamelessly put any rumors of a dumb blonde to rest. Parton's lively and decorated career includes five Grammy Awards, countless chart-topping singles and albums, as well as forays into film and also a highly successful crossover act into pop music; all this and her career is nowhere near over.

Dolly Parton's glamour and prestige is no act, but it has taken her leaps from her past in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, where the fourth of 12 children grew up in poverty using music as an escape. By the time she was 12, Parton began appearing on television in Knoxville, TN, and at 13 she started recording songs for a small label and even made a cameo on the Grand Ole Opry. In 1967 Parton released the deceiving "Dumb Blonde," catching the attention of Porter Wagoner, who hired her onto his television show to sing duets with him. The stunning blonde left America speechless, and she broke out as a solo singer after 1970. Through the ‘70s Parton enjoyed country and pop success, and crossed over into a successful film career in the ‘80s, especially with the hit movie 9 to 5, which also featured Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

Parton kept truckin' through the ‘70s and ‘80s, releasing hit songs like "I Will Always Love You," opening the main Pigeon Forge attraction Dollywood (a theme park dedicated to her) while continuing to release hit albums like 1993's Honky Tonk Angels, a collaboration with country's finest ladies Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn. While Dolly Parton will never disappear from country music, she has branched out into other ventures like her 1994 autobiography, My Life and Other Unfinished Business. The Parton machine has pumped out hits through the ‘90s and into the ‘00s, her most recent being 2008's Backwoods Barbie.