- Country music legend Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80 following a celebrated six-decade career.
- Born in a two-room log cabin, she was believed to be the world’s wealthiest country music star, with an estimated net worth of $500m, and became a noted philanthropist
- She was known for her efforts to encourage literacy around the world through her Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library. Her library gifted books free of charge to children from birth to age five. The program spans five countries and gifts millions of free books each month to children worldwide.
- Dolly Parton donated $1 million in April 2020 to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, helping fund early critical research for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Mark Denison, who led the research effort, said the singer’s donation funded its critical early stages.
- In 2022, she was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and commented: “I just give from my heart. I never know what I’m going to do or why I’m gonna do it. I just see a need and if I can fill it, then I will.”
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