Loretta Lynn has had a special place in country music lovers' hearts since the 1960s. The Coal Miner's Daughter from Butcher Hollow, Kentucky taught herself to play the guitar after receiving it as a gift from her husband, Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn (sometimes billed as Mooney). Despite recent health scares, Lynn continues to perform and her music is still beloved across the United States and the world.
Loretta Webb married at 15 and had six children — Betty Sue, Jack Benny, Clara Marie "Cissie," Ernest Ray "Ernie," Peggy Jean and Patsy Eileen (named after Lynn's close friend Patsy Cline).
Lynn is completely self-made, becoming a country star in Nashville when she was in her 30s. She first turned heads with her debut single "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl." Across her career she's had 16 No. 1 hits on the Billboard charts, including "Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)," "You Ain't Woman Enough," "Fist City," "One's on the Way" and "Coal Miner's Daughter". She also found widespread success as fellow country musician Conway Twitty's duet partner.
The singer-songwriter is a trailblazer for women in music, constantly pushing boundaries with the deep subject matter in her songs. "Wings Upon Your Horns," which focuses on teenage virginity loss, and "The Pill," which centers on the benefits of birth control, were both banned from the radio during the peak of Lynn's career.
With "You Ain't Woman Enough," Lynn was the first woman to have a No. 1 hit. She would go on to have 70 more charting singles chart and 10 No. 1 studio albums. She's also a three-time Grammy winner. The Country Music Hall of Fame member is the most awarded female country singer in history. She was even awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contributions to American culture by Barack Obama in 2013.
So just how successful is Loretta Lynn?
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Loretta Lynn's Net Worth:
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the country music singer is worth an estimated $65 million. Lynn has racked up a fortune with her talent for storytelling, whether it's in her hit songs or books about her own life.
In 1976, she released her autobiography Coal Miner's Daughter, which was turned in an Oscar-winning film starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones as Lynn and her husband Oliver Lynn. She also penned the 2002 autobiography Still Woman Enough, 2012's Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics and the 2004 cookbook You're Cookin' it Country: My Favorite Recipes and Memories.
Lynn has also capitalized on her fan's curiosity over her personal life and humble beginnings. She purchased her childhood cabin in Butcher Hollow, which was been transformed into a museum about her life.
In addition to visiting "Butcher Holler," fans can also visit the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The site has been turned into a tourist destination with lodging, shops, tours and more. It's the ultimate place to learn all about Loretta Lynn and her family, including her musical sister, Crystal Gayle. It's clear that Lynn deserves every bit of her wealth. She's a brilliant businesswoman and iconic musician.
This story originally ran on Jan. 17, 2020.
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