Despite being married for almost sixty years to her late husband, Carl Dean, Dolly Parton never had a child. She suffered from a medical condition called endometriosis, which forced her to undergo a partial hysterectomy in her thirties.
“Early on, when my husband and I were dating, and then when we got married, we just assumed we would have kids,” said Parton. The two even picked out names for their future children but “it just never happened”. While this caused some sadness, Parton late said she considered the world a rather bleak place and she’d have to constantly worry for her offspring had she had any… she was, and remains, at peace with her lack of children.
It happens a lot. People expect they’ll have children because it’s the expected thing, the common thing. And then, it doesn’t happen, for all sorts of reason. That’s life. For what it’s worth, Dolly Parton does have a goddaughter she’s close to — Miley Cyrus. Who hasn’t done too badly for herself as a singer.