Rachel Ann Parton George (formerly Dennison, née Parton; born August 31, 1959) is an American singer and actress and the youngest sibling of entertainer

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

Career

Parton was raised in the Church of God. She is the youngest of twelve children born to Avie Lee Caroline (née Owens; 1923–2003) and Robert Lee Parton Sr. (1921–2000). As well as Dolly Parton, her other celebrity siblings include older brother, entertainer

Randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolph, and Miranda, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of them. '' Randi'' is approximat ...

and sister

Stella Parton Stella Mae Parton (born May 4, 1949) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter widely known for a series of country singles that charted during the mid-to-late-1970s, her biggest hit being "I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonig ...

. As a child, she enjoyed wearing make-up and imitating her favorite stars. She quit school after the eighth grade and toured the country with her family, often doing her elder sisters' make-up and occasionally singing backup. At age 15, she performed solo on stage for the first time. During her first performance, as she remembers, "right off I saw this new piano man (pianist Richard Dennison) and knew he was the fella for me." She and Dennison were married three years later. In 1982, Dennison landed her first and only acting role in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television sitcom incarnation of ''

9 to 5 Working time or laboring time is the period of time that a person spends at paid Wage labour, labor. Unpaid work, Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countri ...

''. Before the show premiered, she stated in a ''People'' magazine interview: "I'm sure people will compare me to Dolly—it's only human nature." Her role, as bombshell secretary Doralee Rhodes, had been originated by her older sister,

, in the hit 1980 theatrical film of the same name. ''9 to 5'' was shot before a live studio audience and co-starred

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from t ...

and

Valerie Curtin Valerie Curtin is an American actress and screenwriter. Personal life Curtin was born in Jackson Heights, New York on March 31, 1945, the daughter of radio actor Joseph Curtin. She attended Lake Erie College. She is a paternal cousin of TV come ...

. The series had an impressive beginning in the ratings, but after a retooling (including the addition of

Leah Ayres Leah Ayres Kalish (born Leah Simpson; May 29, 1957) is an American former actress, best known for her role as Janice Kent in the martial arts sports action film ''Bloodsport'' and as Valerie Bryson on the daytime serial ''The Edge of Night''. K ...

to the cast), the series was canceled by ABC after 33 episodes in 1983. The sitcom proved popular in reruns, leading producers to revive it in

first-run syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...

in 1986.

Sally Struthers Sally Anne Struthers (born July 28, 1947) is an American actress and activist. She played Gloria Stivic, the daughter of Archie Bunker, Archie and Edith Bunker in ''All in the Family'', for which she won two Emmy Awards, and Babette on ''Gilmor ...

joined the cast, and the sitcom's popularity revived, producing another 52 episodes before ending in 1988. During the network run of the series, she and her fellow cast members appeared on an episode of ''

Battle of the Network Stars ''Battle of the Network Stars'' is a series of competitions in which television stars from ABC, CBS and NBC would compete in various sporting events. A total of 19 of these competitions were held between 1976 and 1988, all of which were aired ...

'' in 1983. She performed alongside her sister in a 1987 episode of her sister's variety series '' Dolly''. Dennison's last appearance on camera was during an episode of ''Bravo Profiles'' titled "Dolly Parton: Diamond in a Rhinestone World" in 1999. Dennison has since retired from acting. Occasionally, she will sing with her siblings. Parton George and her sister Dolly co-wrote ''Good Lookin' Cookin, a cookbook based on the Parton family upbringing; the book was released in 2024.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dennison, Rachel 1959 births Living people American women singers American actresses People from Franklin, Tennessee 21st-century American women singers

Rachel Rachel () was a Bible, Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph (Genesis), Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban (Bible), Laban. Her older siste ...