Stella Mae Parton was born on May 4, 1949, in Sevierville, Tennessee. She is the sixth of 12 children born to Avie Lee Caroline and Robert Lee Parton, Sr.. Country vocalist Dolly Parton is her elder sister by three years. When Stella was seven, Dolly and she appeared on a local television program, and two years later she debuted on radio. During this time, Stella and her sisters Willadeene and Cassie formed a group who sang gospel music and made commercials around eastern Tennessee. During her high school years, Parton began writing songs. She married Marvin Carroll Rauhuff just prior to her high school graduation in 1966. Parton had one son by this marriage.
Recording career
In 1967, Parton released her first album, In The Garden. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Washington, DC and began performing at the Hillbilly Heaven club. Later moving to Nashville, she started her own record label, Soul, Country and Blues, in 1975 and released her debut solo album, I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight. Its title track was a substantial national hit, climbing into the country Top Ten. The success of "I Want to Hold You in my Dreams Tonight" landed her a major-label deal with Elektra in 1976. Her 1977 duet with Carmol Taylor, "Neon Woman", was somewhat successful, and she scored three Top 20 hits over 1977-1978 with "The Danger of a Stranger", "Four Little Letters", and "Standard Lie Number One"; she had an additional top-40 hit with her sister Dolly's composition "Steady as the Rain" in 1979. She recorded a total of three albums for Elektra through 1979. In 1984, Stella performed a song with Kin Vassey for the soundtrack of the movie Rhinestone, in which Dolly starred. Though her chart success tapered off, after she left Elektra in 1980, Stella continued to record, releasing albums for several independent labels, including Accord/Townhouse and Airborne; she is currently with Raptor Records. To date, she has released 22 albums and has had 28 charting singles. Stella has released a DVD, Live in Nashville. The DVD is footage from a 1990 concert in Nashville pulled from the Attic Entertainment archives. It is the first of a planned Vintage Collection Series.
Television and film work
In 1979, Parton starred in The Dukes of Hazzard episode titled "Deputy Dukes" as Mary Beth Malone, a woman who impersonates a police officer to settle a family score with a prisoner who ends up being transported by Bo and Luke during a change of venue. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she starred in several Broadway touring musicals, including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Pump Boys & Dinettes, Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Parton also wrote and staged several Dollywood shows the opening season, as well as appearing on The Dukes of Hazzard, Regis, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. She has been on several international radio programs, including Get Focused Radio with host Kate Hennessy. In 2006, Parton made appearances in two films, A Dance for Bethany and Ghost Town, both slated for release in 2007. Each film also includes Stella's music on the soundtrack. Also ready for release in 2007 was her 21st album, which is a collection of original Contemporary Christian songs. Followed in 2008, was her 22nd album, Testimony. Most recently, Stella appeared in Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors, an NBC made-for-TV movie based on Dolly's song of the same name that first aired on NBC in December 2015. In 2018, Stella took part in the BBC's Celebrity Masterchef series.
She also has a consulting business, teaching stage presence, hair, makeup, wardrobe techniques, and video coaching. Parton has also written three cookbooks, including her recipe-packed book State Fairs and Church Bazaars.
