How Dolly Parton became the one thing most Americans could agree on

Even though she avoided partisan politics, Parton was never apolitical – speaking about subjects including women’s rights, LGBTQ equality and Black Lives Matter.

That commitment to speaking her mind, and her “amazing sense of self”, Phillips said, was integral to Parton’s near-universal appeal and self-styled diplomacy.

“She has always been a model for women, carving your own path, looking out for yourself, making sure that you retain the rights to your intellectual property, looking out for your own financial and creative independence,” Phillips told the BBC.

“And if that’s not feminism, I don’t know what is.”

Public interest in Parton’s views began many years ago, when she made it clear to anyone listening that she was not a cookie-cutter country singer.

In 1977, she became a crossover pop sensation, but instead of alienating her base, she grew her audience. Then, in 1980, she made her film debut in 9 to 5, a dark satire about women’s rights in the workplace helped by Jane Fonda. Fonda was persona non-grata in many parts of the country for her anti-Vietnam War activism.

But Parton refused to distance herself from Fonda just to appease her more conservative fans. She said: “I respect anybody’s beliefs and the fact that they’re willing to stand up for whatever it is. But I’m also the kind of person that if I don’t like where you got it, I can tell you where to put it.”

After learning of her death, Fonda posted on social media: “She is woven into all our lives and hearts forever.”

Parton’s image is similarly woven into public minds: always camp, always glamorous, always smiling and always kind. Her aesthetics were deliberately cultivated, another calculated move from a shrewd entrepreneur who understood showbusiness as well as she understood people.