At a time when no American celebrity seems immune from the country’s many divisions, Dolly Parton was a crossover icon who stayed neutral in the culture wars while still speaking her mind.
Her style was adopted by the LGBTQ community and is celebrated in drag shows.
She starred in a feminist comedy and became an icon for feminists, but didn’t use that word to describe herself. She preferred “woman in business.”
She laughed about her plastic surgery and said the joke was on the public.
She talked about her deep faith and lent her name to a wholesome family-friendly theme park in her home state of Tennessee.
