Dolly Parton's Welsh family connection revisited after country singer's death

Dolly Parton's death has brought renewed attention in Wales to the country music legend's Welsh links.

Parton's mother's side of the family was believed to have come from Conwy, with her Welsh heritage explored in a 2025 documentary.

But following the singers death, research by staff at Conwy council's archives now suggests that Parton's ancestors were from Machynlleth not Conwy as previously thought.

Researcher Elysia Garner said that "curiosity got the better of the team and using publicly available information, we were able to put together a family tree", leading them to discover Parton's eighth great-grandfather, William Owen Jr, was born in Machynlleth in 1584.

Comedian Rob Brydon fronted the BBC documentary series Honky Tonk Road Trip, in which he journeyed across the American South to celebrate 100 years of country music.

In it he visited Dollywood, a theme park created by Parton, where Dolly's niece Heidi Parton said relatives had traced the lineage of the Parton and Owens sides of their family back to the 1600s or 1700s.

Brydon asked the family about the name Owens seemingly being connected to Wales, to which Heidi said: "I think it is if I'm not mistaken."

"So you're telling me there's a little bit of Dolly that comes from Wales? This is wonderful news. Dolly is Welsh," Brydon joked.

After visiting Dollywood, Brydon reflected on the connection.

"Suddenly, it all makes sense, the voice, the love of mountains, dueting with Tom Jones."

Parton's niece, Jada Star, had also previously spoken about the family's Welsh connection.

She said the Owens side of the family, coming from Parton's mother Avie Lee Owens, was believed to have come from Conwy.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales in 2024, Star, herself a singer, said discovering that part of the family's history had been "really extraordinary".

She said it was "a lot of fun" to discover her Welsh roots, and she and Parton were excited to share what they had learned.

"Getting to find out that side of our family is really extraordinary, especially with all the things we're finding out about our connections with music, and how that's always been with us, that's really wonderful," she said.

Star suggested that some of Parton's music, and her own, may have been inspired by her Welsh roots.

Garner from Conwy archives service said the team were "intrigued" when they heard the suggestion that Parton's ancestors may have hailed from Conwy.

Gary Jones, who was also involved, said the research was "put together using online resources on our public access computers", but added they could not say for certain that Parton did not have familial links to Conwy.

"Our research took us back into the 18th Century on most branches of Dolly Parton's family, which was as far as we were able to go using the resources we have, but having got to the 16th Century in Machynlleth, we were happy to stop our research at this point," he said.

In 2008, during a concert at the Cardiff International Arena, Parton reportedly revealed her Welsh ancestry to fans in the crowd.

"Some of my mother's people, the Owens, are from there [Wales]," Parton later told Wales Online.

"I've been there about three times and it always feels good because it feels like family."

Tom Jones posted a tribute to Parton on X, saying the country music star left "a great emptiness".

He praised her "angelic but powerful voice" and said she had had a "vast influence on generations to come".

"A wonderful and generous person with an amazing story, RIP Dolly," he said.

Actress Amber Davies, from Conwy, said Dolly had given her "my first yes" after she had made her West End debut in the 2019 Parton-produced stage adaption of 9 To 5.

Davies said Parton had been "one of the very first to believe in me" in an Instagram post, adding: "The world will not be the same without you."

Swansea country singer Eleri Angharad performed in a Parton tribute act, and said listening closely to Parton's music had shown her the depth of her songwriting.

"She's a simple songwriter, but the depths of her songwriting are hidden and after a few listens you delve into them," she told BBC Radio Wales.

Angharad performed as Parton as part of the tribute show Different Divas, saying she chose the singer because she was "such a character to play".

"You realise how many people know the songs and how truly iconic she was," she said.

"Her hope for the world was that she made the smallest difference and I think she's made a massive difference."

Welsh cook Sam Evans made a BBC Radio Wales documentary about Parton's Welsh links and also had a personal connection with her drummer.

Evans said her business would not exist without Parton, explaining that she and her partner had left their 9 to 5 jobs in 2012 to pursue their dreams of American barbecue and meeting the singer.

She eventually lived with Parton's drummer Steve Turner, and got to know members of her band and wider team.

Recalling her influence, she said Parton's work rate and ethos had been "such an incredible inspiration".

"She's a songbird. She sings her blues and they say that country music is two chords as the truth and as Welsh people we live that and I think it's part of our DNA," Evans said.

"So it feels like a grandmother or a close relative has passed."