Dolly Parton, who left a legacy for so many children through her Imagination Library, is not leaving behind any children of her own.
But it was for a good reason, she said.
The late country icon has spoken openly about her decision to not have children and explained how parenthood was not meant for her and her husband, Carl Dean, who died last year.
In November 2020, Parton told Oprah Winfrey on “The Oprah Conversation” that not having children allowed her to focus on her career and accomplish her philanthropic efforts.
“I didn’t have children because I believe that God didn’t mean for me to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine, so I could do things like the Imagination Library,” Parton told Winfrey.
Parton’s Imagination Library, which has been operating for over 30 years, is a book-gifting program that provides free literature to children every month from birth until they began school, regardless of their financial background. The organization has gifted over 330,000,000 books since its inception.
In 2023, she told Saga Magazine that she does not miss having children like she thought she would.
“When you’re a young couple, you think you’re going to have kids, but it just wasn’t one of those burning things for me. I had my career and my music and I was traveling,” Parton said. “If I’d had kids, I’d have stayed home with them, I’m sure, and worried myself death about them. With everything that’s going on. I’d hate to be bringing a child into this world right now.