Dolly Parton Opens Up About Her Sacrifices For Her Career
Dolly Parton Society of Rock
Most people might consider slowing down at 79, especially after selling more than 100 million records, winning 11 Grammy Awards, and amassing a $450 million fortune. But then again, most 79-year-olds aren’t Dolly Parton. Even the passing of her husband, Carl Dean, in March 2025, didn’t stop the country music icon, though she has occasionally stepped back to focus on her health.
Despite nearly six decades of marriage, Dolly and Carl never had children, a choice she recently discussed with Entertainment Tonight while promoting her upcoming memoir, Star of the Show: My Life On Stage, releasing November 11.
Balancing Career and Personal Life
For someone like Dolly, who spent much of her life touring and recording, juggling motherhood with her career would have been nearly impossible. Health considerations also played a role in her decision.
She candidly reflected on the sacrifices her career demanded: “Just like my song: ’24/7, 365,’” she said. “But I was willing to make the sacrifice. You give up time for all the things… I don’t really go on vacations. I don’t hardly ever have time for any of that. But I was willing to do it, and so it’s brought me here, and had I not spent that life that way, I would not have this book.”
No Regrets and Giving Back
Dolly previously spoke about her choice during a 2020 episode of The Oprah Conversation:
“Since I had no kids, and my husband was pretty independent, I had freedom. So I think a big part of my whole success is the fact that I was free to work.”
Choosing not to have children didn’t prevent her from nurturing the next generation. In 1995, she founded Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a childhood literacy program in her East Tennessee hometown that has since grown nationwide.
“I believed that God didn’t mean for me to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine, so I could do things like Imagination Library because if I hadn’t had the freedom to work, I wouldn’t have done all the things I’ve done,” she explained. “I wouldn’t be in a position to do all of the things I’m doing now.”
For Dolly, the choice to remain child-free allowed her to dedicate herself fully to music, philanthropy, and her enduring legacy—proving that fulfillment comes in many forms.
