Meet Dolly Parton’s Siblings: Rachel, Stella, Coy, Freida, Randy, Willadeene, Cassie, Larry, Floyd, David and Robert

Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Pittman Center, Tennessee, and died on August 25, 2026, at age 80.

She was a singer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman whose career spanned seven decades, and she remains one of the most recognized figures in American country music.

Dolly was the fourth of twelve children born to Robert Lee Parton Sr., a sharecropper and construction worker, and Avie Lee Caroline Parton (née Owens), a homemaker whose singing and Appalachian storytelling shaped her daughter’s earliest musical instincts.

The family, raised in the Church of God, was white and of English, Scots-Irish, and Cherokee descent by Dolly’s own account, and grew up poor in a three-bedroom cabin near the Great Smoky Mountains in Sevierville, Tennessee. Dolly graduated from Sevier County High School in 1964 and left for Nashville the very next day.

Standing 5 feet tall (152 cm), Dolly married Carl Thomas Dean on May 30, 1966, in Ringgold, Georgia, having met him a day after arriving in Nashville outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat. Their marriage lasted nearly 59 years until Dean’s death on March 3, 2025, at age 82. Aside from her husband, Dolly was not publicly linked to any other long-term relationship.

The couple never had biological children, though Dolly helped raise several of her younger siblings and was godmother to singer Miley Cyrus. Her net worth stood at $650 million to $700 million, built through her music catalog, acting career, business ventures including Dollywood, and philanthropic initiatives such as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

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Dolly was one of twelve siblings: Willadeene Parton, David Wilburn Parton, Coy Denver Parton, Robert Lee Parton Jr., Stella Mae Parton, Cassie Nan Parton, Randle Huston “Randy” Parton, Larry Gerald Parton, Floyd Estel Parton, Freida Estelle Parton, and Rachel Ann Parton. Here is what to know about each of them and how they relate to the country icon.

Willadeene Parton

Willadeene Parton, born March 24, 1940, is the eldest of the Parton siblings and Dolly’s oldest sister, currently 86. According to Dolly’s official website, she “tends to act as a second mother to her younger siblings.”

She briefly performed with her sisters in a gospel group before turning to writing, authoring the 1996 family memoir Smoky Mountain Memories: Stories from the Hearts of the Parton Family, followed by a 1997 recipe collection, All-Day Singing & Dinner on the Ground. She has largely lived a private life in Tennessee.

David Wilburn Parton

David Wilburn Parton, born March 30, 1942, in White Pine, Tennessee, was the eldest son in the family and Dolly’s oldest brother.

He worked as a bridge builder superintendent for Simpson Construction, contributing to projects around Kingsport, Johnson City, and Knoxville, and kept mostly out of the spotlight throughout his life. He was married to his wife, Kay Parton, for 45 years and had two daughters. David died on November 15, 2024, at age 82, at his home in White Pine.

Coy Denver Parton

Coy Denver Parton, known to the family as “Denver,” was born in August 1943 and was Dolly’s older brother. He worked as a crane operator on bridge construction projects.

He was also described in his obituary as a homestead farmer and avid hunter who lived a private life around Sevierville. Coy died on July 23, 2026, at age 82.

Robert Lee Parton Jr.

Robert Lee Parton Jr., known as “Bobby,” is Dolly’s younger brother. Like his brothers David and Coy, he largely stayed out of the entertainment industry and the public eye throughout his life, and little else about him has been publicly documented.

Stella Mae Parton

Stella Mae Parton, born May 4, 1949, in Sevierville, Tennessee, is the sixth of the twelve Parton children and Dolly’s younger sister by three years, currently 77.

She built her own country music career, debuting in 1967 and scoring a chart-topping hit with “I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight” in 1975. She also appeared in Dolly’s 2015 television movie Coat of Many Colors and has remained one of the family’s most public voices, frequently sharing tributes and family updates on social media.

Cassie Nan Parton

Cassie Nan Parton, born February 12, 1951, is Dolly’s younger sister and the fourth daughter in the family, currently 75. She sang backup vocals alongside Dolly and Stella and appeared in several of Dolly’s television and film productions, including Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas.

Her son, Bryan Seaver, served as Dolly’s personal head of security for more than two decades and delivered the video statement announcing Dolly’s death.

Randy Parton

Randle Huston “Randy” Parton, born December 15, 1953, in Sevierville, was Dolly’s younger brother and a singer-songwriter, actor, and businessman closely tied to the family’s entertainment ventures, including Dollywood.

He performed as a bass guitarist, fronted his own band, the Moonlight Bandits, and originally recorded the track “Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler).” He duetted with Dolly on “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You.” Randy died on January 21, 2021, at age 67, following a battle with cancer.

Larry Gerald Parton

Larry Gerald Parton was the ninth of the twelve Parton children and Dolly’s younger brother. He died just days after his birth in 1955, the first of Dolly’s siblings to pass away.

Floyd Estel Parton

Floyd Estel Parton, twin brother of Freida, was Dolly’s younger brother and a singer-songwriter remembered by his family as a “Renaissance man” with a deep knowledge of the outdoors and a talent for cooking.

He co-wrote several songs for Dolly, most notably the country hit “Rockin’ Years,” recorded by Dolly Parton and Ricky Van Shelton, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Vocal Collaboration. Floyd died on December 6, 2018, at age 61.

Freida Estelle Parton

Freida Estelle Parton, twin sister of Floyd, was born in June 1957 and is Dolly’s younger sister. She pursued music early on, performing and recording alongside her sisters, before later becoming an ordained minister. She has also been associated with a chapel and antique store in Tennessee and remains one of the more publicly visible Parton siblings.

Rachel Parton George

Rachel Ann Parton George, born August 31, 1959, in Franklin, Tennessee, is the youngest of the twelve Parton siblings and Dolly’s youngest sister, currently 66.

Raised in the Church of God like her older siblings, she left school after the eighth grade to tour with her family, doing her sisters’ makeup and occasionally singing backup, before making her solo stage debut at 15.

She went on to appear in the television adaptation of 9 to 5, playing the character originated by Dolly in the film. In September 2024, she released a cookbook with Dolly titled Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals. She was previously married to Richard Dennison and is now married to Eric George.

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