In 1986, she opened Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, close to the mountains where she grew up. The park has become one of the most popular attractions in Tennessee. In 1995, she founded the Imagination Library, which sends free books to young children every month and has since expanded to several countries.
Away from the stage, Parton was married to Carl Dean for almost six decades. The couple met outside a laundromat in Nashville in 1964 and kept their private life largely out of the spotlight.