Dolly Parton, the country music legend who died on Tuesday at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer, had revealed the name she and her late husband, Carl Dean, would have chosen for a baby girl: Carla.
Speaking with The Guardian in 2014, Dolly reflected on their marriage and the possibility of having children. She said at the time: “You always wonder. My husband and I, when we first got married, we thought about if we had kids, what would they look like? Would they be tall — because he’s tall? Or would they be little squats like me?”
Dolly continued: “If we’d had a girl, she was gonna be called Carla,” adding: “Anyway, we talked about it, and we dreamed it, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
A mother’s sacrifice for stardom
Reflecting on this, Dolly told the outlet that she “would have been a great mother.” However, that would have probably meant she’d “have given up everything else.” “Because I would’ve felt guilty about that, if I’d have left them [to work, to tour]. Everything would have changed. I probably wouldn’t have been a star.”
Dolly met Carl — who died last year at the age of 82 — outside a Laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1964, on her very first day in the city. Having just arrived at 18-years-old with dreams of becoming a musician, both quickly became smitten with one another. The couple dated for two years before eloping and marrying on May 30, 1966. They remained married for almost 60 years until Carl’s passing in 2025.
Medical reasons and a lasting legacy
However, they never had children due to a combination of medical reasons and career timing. In 1982, Dolly revealed that she had been diagnosed with endometriosis, and subsequently underwent a partial hysterectomy, which left her physically unable to carry children.
The “I Will Always Love You” singer also stated that not having children allowed her the freedom to grow her career. In 2020, Dolly told Oprah Winfrey that she believed “God didn’t mean for me to have kids so that everybody’s kids could be mine.” She explained that the absence of children in her life meant she could “do things like Imagination Library” — a book gifting programme that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas across the US. “Because if I hadn’t had the freedom to work, I wouldn’t have done all the things I’ve done. I wouldn’t be in a position to do all of the things I’m doing now,” she added.
The same year Dolly revealed her beloved baby name, she told People Country that she’s always been surrounded by kids, because she “grew up in a big old family” with eight brothers and sisters younger than her — many of whom came to live with her early in her life. “I’ve loved their kids just like they’re my grandkids, and now I’ve got great-grand-kids,” she said.
Announcement of her passing
In fact, it was her nephew, Bryan Seaver, who announced the news of his aunt’s death in an Instagram video. Seaver said in the video: “It is an honour, an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.”
A statement announcing her death was also released, where it was revealed that Dolly had died of cancer. However, the type of cancer was not disclosed. The message read: “Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand. Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.”
The statement concluded, revealing that, after “bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life” at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was “surrounded by loved ones.”
