The Dolly Parton example: Stay true to your roots, even as you reinvent yourself and your brand.
By Mary E. Maloney
My husband and I went to Dollywood in December. And while I loved the theme park and hiking in the nearby Tennessee hills, I was completely awed by the idea that the park is just one example of the amazing personal brand Dolly Parton has built. Let’s talk about how Dolly has nurtured and reinvented her brand and how you might be able to translate elements of her success into your own.
During my December trip to Dollywood, I hiked the beautiful hills of Tennessee. I can see why Dolly loves her state so much!
How She Launched Her Brand: With Excellence
Dolly Parton came to the fore when she started topping the country music charts in the late 1960s. In other words, at the base of her brand is her distinctive singing voice and her commitment to music excellence.
Parton has received numerous accolades, including 11 Grammy Awards from 50 nominations. She has won 10 Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year, one of only seven female artists to achieve this distinction.
Her music was a stepping stone to fame on TV and the big screen from The Porter Wagoner Show to 9 to 5 (1980), Steel Magnolias (1989) and others.
And she continues to write and record music. Her latest, “If You Hadn’t Been There,” is a tribute to her husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, who passed away on March 3 at age 82. (Dolly herself is 79.)
Lesson 1 from Dolly’s brand: Be exceptional at what you do.
How She Maintains and Reinvents Her Brand: With Consistency
Dolly has effectively built her brand up from the foundation of her music. In addition to the Dollywood theme park I visited (Dolly kicked off the park’s 40th anniversary season last month), she also co-owns the Dolly Parton’s Stampede dinner attraction chain.
She has written multiple books, including Coat of Many Colors, 2016, a children’s picture book based on the lyrics of Dolly’s song with the same title; Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals – A Lifetime of Family, Friends, and Food, 2024, written with her sister; and more than one memoir (Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business, 1994) and (Behind the Scenes: My Life in Rhinestones, 2023).
She has her dog products line, Doggy Parton, offering apparel, accessories, toys, and more with “Dolly” flair. She has her own line of bakery products with Conagra’s Duncan Hines. And the new musical, Hello, I’m Dolly!, based on Dolly’s life and music, is slated to open in 2026.
With so many successful brand reinventions and an estimated brand and net worth of $650 million, Dolly is clearly a prolific creator and an impressive businesswoman. But it’s not just the volume of what she has done and her financial success that stand out. It’s also the consistency with which she does everything that matters.
For example, butterflies abound in Dolly’s brand presentations. The logo for Dollywood turns the “w” into a butterfly. The Stampede dinner attraction opened the 2025 season with a new butterflies and horses segment.
Why butterflies?
“When I was growing up, I was always fascinated by butterflies,” she says on her website. “They are such gentle, beautiful and free-spirited creatures, and I’ve always related to them with my own personality and how I live my life. They’ve become my little symbol, and I like to include them wherever I can.”
Dolly is also very consistent about who she is in all aspects of her career. She is the glamorous one, in sequins, with a very kind heart. She is known for having plastic surgery to look the way she wants to look. (“I’m so outgoing inside in my personality, that I need the way I look to match all of that,” she says.) She is the hometown Southern girl who has experienced poverty but still finds life nourishing and has great meals with her family. She also delights in partnering with other musicians but insists they don’t use cuss words in the final recording.
Through and through, she’s Dolly.
Lesson 2 from Dolly’s brand: Maintain unwavering consistency.
How She Shows What She Stands For: With On-Brand Causes
One of the key questions we at Revealing Genius help our executive personal branding clients answer is: What do you stand for? Another way to ask this same question is: What is the big relevant change in the world that you are uniquely poised to make?
You won’t be surprised when I tell you that Dolly Parton answers this question in ways that speak to her roots, growing up poor in Tennessee, loving music and her family—and helping pave the way for the next generation to dream big.
A key cause of Dolly’s is helping children learn to read because she believes it will help them live more fulfilling lives. Inspired by her father’s inability to read or write, Dolly’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by giving books free of charge to children from birth to age five. Imagination Library works through local community partners in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and Republic of Ireland.
“When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true,” she says. “I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer. The seeds of these dreams are often found in books, and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”
During the pandemic, Dolly gave $1 million to the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection Immunology and Inflammation in Nashville. The gift ultimately helped fund research for Moderna’s highly effective COVID-19 vaccine, also known as the “Dolly Vaxx.” When she got vaccinated, Dolly updated the lyrics of her famous song, “Jolene,” to “vaccine” to encourage others to get their dose.
“From singing barefoot on the front porch of her Tennessee mountain home to commanding the stage in six-inch heels, Dolly Parton is a larger-than-life living legend with a heart as big as her dreams,” her website proclaims. And her philanthropy accurately reflects this brand.
Lesson 3 from Dolly’s brand: Boldly stand up for what matters to you.
Put These Three Lessons From Dolly Into Action
Let’s recap. In this article, we’ve described three key takeaways from the iconic Dolly Parton brand that you can use to help you build your own executive personal brand:
- Be exceptional at what you do.
- Maintain unwavering consistency.
- Boldly stand up for what matters to you.
The good news is you don’t have to translate these ideas into your own brand on your own. We’re happy to help. Check out our signature Brand Declaration offering or register for our next 7-Day Summit or Mastermind Sphere of Influence. It will be our honor to work with you.
