CNN entertainment reporter Chloe Melas asks Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and his longtime partner Lauren Sanchez why they chose country music star Dolly Parton as the latest Bezos Courage and Civility Award recipient.
Dolly Parton is the latest recipient of the Bezos Courage and Civility Award.
“Jeff [Bezos] and I are so proud to share that we have a new Bezos Courage and Civility Award winner — a woman who gives with her heart and leads with love and compassion in every aspect of her work,” Bezos’ longtime partner, Lauren Sanchez, posted on Instagram alongside a video of their speech Friday before awarding the grant to the country music legend. “We can’t wait to see all the good that you’re going to do with this $100 million award, @DollyParton.”
Keep scrolling for a photo gallery of Dolly Parton through the years
Parton is also known for her philanthropy. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s vaccine research efforts. It was partly used to fund Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine.
She said in an interview at the time with BBC’s “The One Show,” that she felt “honored and proud.”
“I just felt so proud to have been part of that little seed money that will hopefully grow into something great and help to heal this world,” she said. “I’m a very proud girl today to know I had anything at all to do with something that’s going to help us through this crazy pandemic.”
Dolly Parton arrives at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
In 1988, Parton established the Dollywood Foundation, and eventually The Imagination Library, a program that helps children across the world access books.
Among her philanthropic efforts in her home state of Tennessee, Parton also created the Dolly Parton Scholarship, which provides $15,000 to recipients towards a college education.
Bezos, the founder and former head of Amazon.com , said at a press conference at the time that the grant had no string attached.
“They can give it all to their own charity,” Bezos said last year. “Or they can share the wealth. It is up to them.”
Photos: Dolly Parton through the years
Dolly Parton, country music singer-composer in February 1975. (AP Photo/RCA)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Country Music stars Dolly Parton, left, and Minnie Pearl, right, are seen at the Country Music Awards show in October 1977, Nashville, Tennessee. (AP Photo)
Anonymous
Les Paul, right, and Chet Atkins, left, are presented Grammys by Dolly Parton and Freddie Fender, second from right, at 19th annual Grammy Awards, Feb. 19, 1977 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/George Brich)
George Brich
Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash are shown at the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, Tenn., in 1978. (AP Photo)
AP
Carol Burnett and Dolly Parton sing a duet during a television special made at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House for broadcast, Feb. 14, 1979. The CBS program marks the first joint appearance of comedienne Burnett and country-western music star Parton. (AP Photo)
AP
From left, Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin get together Dec 12, 1980 at a Los Angeles news conference to promote their soon-to-be released movie “9 To 5”. (AP Photo/Wally Fong)
Wally Fong
Singer and actress Dolly Parton attends a party following the premiere of her movie “9 to 5” on Dec. 12, 1980, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Harms, File)
AP File
Singer Dolly Parton, Nov. 10, 1982. (AP Photo/Humphrey)
Humphrey
Actor Sylvester Stallone, left, and actress and singer Dolly Parton, sit in a horse-drawn carriage during the filming of the movie Rhinestone, on West Broadway in lower Manhattan, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 1983, in New York. The movie is being made for 20th Century Fox. (AP Photo/Mario Suriani)
Mario Suriani
Entertainer Dolly Parton, wearing a wedding dress, is shown with 300-pound wrestler Hulk Hogan during taping of a television special in Los Angeles, Ca., on Sept. 14, 1987. (AP Photo/Bob Galbraith)
BOB GALBRAITH
Stars of the film Steel Magnolias pose backstage at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York Nov. 5, 1989 at the movie’s premiere. Shown from left: Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine, Julia Roberts and Daryl Hannah. (AP Photo/Ed Bailey)
ED BAILEY
Country singer Dolly Parton is the center of attention as she unveils a pair of ceremonial street signs in front of Radio City Music Hall in New York, Tuesday, May 11, 1993. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
AP FILE
Dolly Parton poses with a rose in her New York hotel room on Sept. 26, 1994. A bundle of energy, Parton bares her soul in her autobiography while working on a new TV show and pitching her new line of wigs, cosmetics and ladies’ wear. (AP Photo/Eric Miller)
AP FILE
Singers Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, from left, pose in New York Feb. 11, 1999. They have released a second recording together, “Trio II.” (AP Photo/Jim Cooper)
AP FILE
During a news conference for the opening of the Dixie Stampede in Orlando, Fla. Wednesday June 18, 2003 Dolly Parton fields a question. Parton was all dolled up like an American flag to publicize her Dixie Stampede in Orlando.(AP Photo/Peter Cosgrove)
PETER COSGROVE
Country singer Dolly Parton rehearses for the Capitol Fourth 2003 Concert in front of The Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 3, 2003. The celebration scheduled for Friday is to feature performances by Parton, James Ingram and the Chieftains, and a fireworks show. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
LAWRENCE JACKSON
Country music legend Dolly Parton relaxes at her office in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005. Parton will begin touring this month to promote her new album, “Those Were the Days.” (AP Photo/John Russell)
JOHN RUSSELL
Dolly Parton plays the fiddle with Stuart Duncan while performing the song “Those were the Days” from Parton’s new album Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005, in Moline, Ill. (AP Photo/Quad City Times, Louis Brems)
AP Photo/Quad City Times, Louis Brems
Country singer Dolly Parton rehearses the Oscar nominated best original song “Travelin’ Thru,” from the film “Transamerica,” during a rehearsal for the 78th Academy Awards on Monday, Feb. 27, 2006, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. The Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2005 will be presented on Sunday. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
CHRIS CARLSON
Country singer and songwriter Dolly Parton, nominated for an Oscar for best original song for “Travelin’ Thru” from the film “Transamerica,” arrives for the 78th Academy Awards Sunday, March 5, 2006, in Los Angeles. Parton will perform the song during the show. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
KEVORK DJANSEZIAN
Reba McEntire, left, performs “How Blue” with Dolly Parton during taping of “CMT Giants” honoring Reba McEntire, Thursday night, Oct. 26, 2006, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. The show is scheduled to air on Saturday, Nov. 18. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
MARK J. TERRILL
The 2006 Kennedy Center honorees pose for a group photo at the State Department in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006. From left to right are: Zubin Mehta, Steven Spielberg, Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Singers Dolly Parton and Smokey Robinson, film director Steven Spielberg, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and conductor Zubin Mehta are being celebrated by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for their contributions to American culture. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE
Country singer Dolly Parton performs during her concert in Ijsselhallen in Zwolle, north eastern Netherlands, on March 18, 2007, as part of her European tour. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
PETER DEJONG
Dolly Parton appears on the NBC “Today” television program in New York Wednesday, April 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Richard Drew
Country music entertainer Dolly Parton performs during the 75th Anniversary Rededication Event at the Rockefeller Memorial at Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009 at the Tennessee-North Carolina border. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Wade Payne
Patricia Resnick, left, Dolly Parton, and Stephen Oremus, pose for a picture in New York, Thursday, April 23, 2009. Parton wrote the music and lyrics for “9 to 5: The Musical”, as well as starred in the film version, Resnick wrote the screenplay for the movie and the book to accompany the new musical and Oremus is the Music Director of the musical. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Seth Wenig
U.S singer Dolly Parton performs at Glastonbury music festival, England, Sunday, June 29, 2014. Thousands of music fans have arrived for the festival to see headliners Arcade Fire, Metallica and Kasabian. (Photo by Jonathan Short/Invision/AP)
Jonathan Short
Dolly Parton arrives at the 51st annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday, April 3, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Jordan Strauss
Dolly Parton poses in the press room with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award during the 50th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Evan Agostini
Dolly Parton, left, and Katy Perry perform “Coat Of Many Colors” at the 51st annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday, April 3, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Matt Sayles
Dolly Parton presents the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Chris Pizzello
Lily Tomlin, from left, Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda present the award for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or a movie at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Chris Pizzello
Hosts Reba McEntire, from left, Carrie Underwood and Dolly Parton appear at the 53rd annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Mark J. Terrill
Dolly Parton, center, performs “God Only Knows”, “There Was Jesus”, and “Faith” with Joel Smallbone, left, and Luke Smallbone, right, of For King & Country at the 53rd annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Mark J. Terrill
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