Dolly Parton, known as the “Queen of Country,” sported bleached blond hair, outfits drowning in rhinestones, stiletto heels and long acrylic nails that doubled as instruments.

She never looked or acted the part of a mogul, but the 11-time Grammy Award-winning artist — who died in Nashville on Tuesday at the age of 80, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer — built a sprawling business in entertainment, philanthropy and hospitality. 

Parton spent her career launching clothing lines, wine labels, baking mixes and home goods. But one of her most notable — and most profitable — undertakings was a vast commercial real estate business in her home state, spearheaded by the 165-acre Dollywood Parks & Resorts.

“I have a big dream of having a big empire based in Nashville,” Parton told The Tennessean in 1982. “What I really want to do is just to (do) — what I've always done — own myself.”

Parton, who grew up in poverty in east Tennessee before going on to write hits like Jolene and I Will Always Love You, amassed a net worth of $450M, according to Forbes. She used that money to pursue philanthropic endeavors like the Imagination Library, a book gifting program Parton launched in 1995 that has mailed more than 300 million free books to children across the globe.

Parton had created a brand unlike any other celebrity, which played a big role in her ability to float between business endeavors, said Belmont University professor Kevin Trowbridge, who taught a “Dollyology” course last year on the legend's branding, leadership and communication. 

“Her public identity remained remarkably coherent across decades, so she never changed,” Trowbridge said. “People knew what she stood for, and her actions repeatedly reinforced that, and that's why her brand felt durable. Rather than a manufactured brand, people trusted her.”

The country music legend had been writing songs and performing for nearly 30 years when she partnered with Jack and Pete Herschend in 1983 to convert their Silver Dollar City amusement park in a former ironworking town called Pigeon Forge into a theme park with her namesake and brand.

By 1985, a $5M expansion was approved and construction began. It was expected to generate 150 new permanent jobs and 150 temporary jobs when it first opened, but its growth has far exceeded any reasonable expectations — today it reportedly employs more than 4,000 people.

Dollywood, tucked near the Great Smoky Mountains, now includes a water park that opened in 2001, the 307-key Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, which opened in 2015, and the 302-room Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort, which opened in 2023. It is ranked Tripadvisor's No. 2 amusement and water park in the U.S., just ahead of Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

It has created more than 23,000 jobs, and the annual direct economic impact of Dollywood, also Sevier County’s largest employer, is $1.8B, according to an economic impact study by a Tennessee state agency.

The theme park features more than 50 rides and family attractions and offers daily live music performances that range from bluegrass to Southern gospel and country. Parton’s 50% stake in the theme park, her largest commercial asset, was estimated to be around $165M in 2021, according to Forbes. That value has almost surely grown — Dollywood lured almost 4 million visitors last year, a record total.

“I’ve always loved parks, and I always wanted to do something, go back home and do something for my people to take something great back home to provide jobs for the people up there and to also have a lot of fun and bring tourism to Tennessee,” Parton said in a television interview in 1985.

But Dollywood, which was closed on the day she died but reopened Wednesday, is the flagship of a broader real estate portfolio.

Parton invested in a nearly 7K SF commercial property in a historically Black neighborhood in Nashville, purchasing it with the royalties she earned from Whitney Houston’s cover of I Will Always Love You from the soundtrack of the 1992 film The Bodyguard.

“It was a whole strip mall, and I thought this is the perfect place for me to be, considering it was Whitney, so I just thought, ‘This is great, I’m just going to be down here with her people, who are my people as well,’” Parton said in a 2021 interview on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

The neighborhood, now called 12 South, has become one of Nashville's fastest-growing areas, which historian David Ewing told The Washington Post in 2021 “all began to be put on the map when Dolly quietly invested in the area.” 

She was active well into her 70s. Parton purchased a 12-story Nashville office building for $75M in 2023 and converted it into the 245-key SongTeller Hotel, with a third-floor museum called Dolly’s Life of Many Colors. The property is expected to start taking reservations next month.

Parton also owned the 63-acre Willow Lake estate in Brentwood, Tennessee, which she purchased in 1999 for $400K with her late husband, Carl Dean, Woman’s World reported.

It is unclear who will step into Parton’s leather platform boots to lead her real estate and business ventures, but whoever it is won't have the impact — or universal seal of approval — as the icon herself.

“With my class, as we studied her, she showed us that success doesn't have to harden you,” Trowbridge said.