Dolly Parton stated on Today that she didn’t have children because she felt that God didn’t want her to have children in order for everyone else’s children to be hers. This allowed her to pursue her work, such as the Imagination Library, because she wouldn’t have been able to achieve what she did if she hadn’t been allowed to work.
Dolly Rebecca Parton is known and popular as an actress, singer, and guitarist in the field of country pop music. She was born in 1946 in Tennessee, US. She belonged to a poor family with a dozen siblings. Parton started playing guitar at an early age and showed her talent on the radio channel at the beginning.
Learn more about her family and her life, and also explore whether Dolly Parton had kids. Let’s get started.
Parton’s Early Life and Siblings
Interestingly, her middle name, Rebecca, was the name of her maternal grandmother, Rebecca Dunn. Rebecca was fourth among her siblings. Her father owned a farm, whereas her mother was the caretaker of her large family.
The large family lived in a small, one-bedroom cabin for a long time. These were the factors that affected Parton deeply and being responsible at an early age.
Despite all the challenges she faced, her mother supported her and motivated her to start her career in the field of music. At her starting point, she wrote about her family, poverty, and other problems she had faced. She grew up with her grandfather, who worked in the church and started playing the homemade guitar at the age of six.
She came on the air at the age of ten on the WIVK and WBIR radio channels. It was a blessing for her when she met Jhonny Cash while recording for Grand Ole Opry at the age of thirteen. Cash liked her singing style and her voice.
Parton wrote songs, after completing her graduation and went to Nashville to find more opportunities. Her top writing includes many hit singles for several writers, also assigned different projects for songwriting. It was just her starting point, later she didn’t stop. She touched the last crown of success in her life.
Her siblings counted as Wiladeene Parton, Stella Parton, Cassie Parton, Randy Parton, Larry Parton, Floyd Parton, Freida Parton, Rachal Parton, David Parton, Coy Parton, and Robert Lee Parton Jr.
Parton’s Love Life and Marriage
Parton loved and married Carl Thomas Dean. The story behind their first meeting seems interesting. It was the time when Parton moved to Nashville, it was just the beginning of their career. She was at the town laundry house, Carl was crossing the way in his truck and looked at her. According to Dean, it was love at first sight.
The couple started dating, Parton was 18 and Dean was about 21. Parton’s love journey and career were on the same track of success. She focused on her career, signed multiple projects of writing songs, also sang pop country music.
In 1966, the pair got married while Dolly was 20, and her man was 23, after two years of dating. On the other hand, the two personalities were different from each other.
Dolly was the personality of crowd and fame, whereas Carl was not as social as her wife. He reminded his wife many times not to ask him to come with her to any award ceremony or at a crowded place.
Dolly stated, “He is a kind of a loner, doesn’t like to socialize with the public or my fans but me.” When Dolly was at the peak of her career, mostly Carl stayed busy focusing on his business. Dean in fact loved his wife’s hard work, and her songs and was impressed by her popularity. He always encouraged her as well.
The Highlights of Dolly Parton’s Life
| Name | Dolly Parton |
| Date of birth | 1946 |
| Place of birth | Tennessee, US |
| Parents | Robert Lee Parton and Avie Lee Caroline |
| Siblings | Eleven siblings including 3 brothers, 8 sisters |
| Spouse | Carl Dean |
| Children | None |
| Profession | Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Guitarist |
| Net worth | Almost $650 million per year |
| Awards | Academy Awards, CMT, GLAAD Awards, Golden Globe Awards and many others |
Does the Couple Have Kids?
A celebrity who had a large number of siblings, a kind-hearted philanthropist, and an actress who had no children of her own. It is the bitter reality Dolly mentioned and revealed several times during her interviews.
As with every love bird they planned to have kids, their names, and other dreams about kids. However, after spending many years together the pair had no children at all. Interestingly, the couple didn’t feel regret and they remained happy.
Reason Behind Having No Kids
One of the major factors that the pair had no kids is Dolly suffered from endometriosis, when she was at her peak, busy with her schedule. In 1984, she had surgery related to endometriosis called a hysterectomy.
She didn’t reveal much about her surgery, but the surgery tells us that, it is the condition in which reproductive parts have been removed from the body. Unfortunately, Dolly faced this kind of infertility.
In her interviews, she often discussed the painful trauma of her life, she suffered from depression and anxiety and also contemplated suicide after the hysterectomy surgery.
She was by nature a humble lady and loved children. She considered herself as the mother of every child. How sweet she was!
She spent most of her time with her nephews and nieces, she loved them and they loved her as well in return. When it comes to Carl, he supported her at every step, he also loved his wife’s relative children. She often used the Great Granny word for herself.
She Accepts the Fate Happily
Since being a mother was not written in her lucky paper, she was happy to consider all of this from God, she mentioned, “Kids are not meant for me but if I had kids, I wouldn’t be in the position I am right now.“
Her love and kindness for kids was eminent. She felt connected with kids and their innocence. She was childish by nature.
Dolly’s work for children shows her immense love for kids. She organized an Imagination Library project for kids, the nonprofit online library for preschoolers and toddlers in the State. However, she also sang children’s songs in her album I Believe in You released in 2017.
Does “Not Having Kids” Affect Her Relationship?
For the answer to this question, we can simply say not at all. Dolly and Carl spent 54, years together. In their long love life, Dolly often mentioned her long-lasting relationship’s secret which was to keep going, no matter what the circumstances are.
She specifically released an album, Pure & Simple, for her love of life Carl. They loved each other and enjoyed one’s company whenever they were together.
Conclusion
- Dolly Parton is an American singer, actress, and songwriter. She is considered the queen of the country music world.
- She released hundreds of songs in pop and traditional music styles. She belonged to a large family of eleven siblings.
- Dolly married Carl Dean in 1966, but the couple had no children of their own. However, Dolly spent time with her nephews and niece and considered herself the mom of every kid.
- She was by nature a childish woman who loved and also released an album for kids. Carl and Dolly spent years together and loved each other.