Danielle Parton may share a last name with one of music’s biggest icons, but she’s built a remarkable legacy all her own.
On Friday, October 23, the Dolly Parton Estate announced Danielle as its official brand ambassador, tasking Dolly’s niece with helping preserve the country legend’s legacy and connect with fans.
Dolly died at age 80 on August 25 following a “brief battle with cancer.”
Danielle is the first woman in her family to earn a four-year college degree, graduating from Belmont University in Nashville in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.
She has a decorated military and aviation career. She began as a flight attendant with American Airlines and Southwest before pursuing her dream of becoming a pilot.
For 20 years, she served in the Air National Guard, flying C-130 and C-5 aircraft around the world and in combat. She became an Aircraft Commander in 2012, deployed multiple times, and logged thousands of cockpit hours.
In 2014, she joined a major commercial airline and continues to fly the Boeing 787.
Influenced by her family’s history in Sevier County and its association with moonshining, Danielle opened her distillery, Shine Girl, in Pigeon Forge in 2022.
The estate referred to them as “having a special family bond”, and Dolly made a speech at Danielle’s military retirement ceremony in 2025. According to an interview Danielle gave to “Extra,” Danielle also shared that she was dealing with a “stage zero” cancer diagnosis, which was detected early on, and that through an interaction with her aunt, she found out Dolly was dealing with cancer.
“I’m not crazy enough to try to fill her shoes,” Danielle said in an Instagram video. “What I can do is share the woman that I knew.”
The estate described Danielle as being similar to Dolly in having a “quick wit, strong work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit, but forging her own path and legacy.”
