In a moment of political division, Dolly Parton stood apart as the one person both sides of the political aisle could agree on.
Seventy percent of Americans expressed a favorable view of Ms. Parton in a March 2026 UMass/YouGov poll — the highest percentage of approval for any person named in the poll, head and shoulders above Barack Obama and Volodymyr Zelensky.
The prolific musician and songwriter died on Tuesday at the age of 80, leaving behind a legacy of philanthropy and a song catalog rich with American classics. And, perhaps most important, data that proves she was one of the most beloved figures in the United States.
If anything, that poll understated her appeal. Only 5 percent of adults said they viewed Ms. Parton unfavorably, with about one quarter of Americans saying they did not have an opinion or had not heard of her.
Ms. Parton was twice as popular in that poll as Taylor Swift, whom 35 percent of Americans viewed favorably.
Part of Ms. Parton’s strong public image was her bipartisan appeal. She was the only figure included in the survey who was viewed favorably by a majority of Democrats, Republicans and political independents. Three quarters of both Democrats and Republicans had a favorable opinion of the singer.
Ms. Swift, by comparison, was viewed favorably by a majority of Democrats, but one quarter of Republicans had warm feelings about the singer, and independents were about evenly split.
This polling strength is not new for Ms. Parton, whose time in the public spotlight spanned 60 years.
She appeared multiple times on Gallup’s Most Admired Woman list and on similar lists as far back as the late 1970s, including a 1978 Roper Organization poll that had her cited by many as woman of the year. That poll put her alongside Barbara Walters, Betty Ford and Carol Burnett as the most popular women in the country.
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