Profile of the Day: Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn

Happy birthday, Loretta Lynn! Today the country music legend turns 83.

She was born Loretta Webb on April 14, 1932 to Theodore Melvin “Ted” Webb, a coal miner, and Clara Marie “Clary” Ramey in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky. Shortly before she turned 16, she married Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn and their life together inspired many of her songs. She was encouraged by her husband to pursue a career in music, and by 1960, she released her first single, “I’m A Honky Tonk Girl.”

For over 50 years, Lynn has enjoyed a very successful music career. One of the greatest hits of her career was “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which sold over 5 million albums worldwide. In 1976, she published her best-selling autobiography, Coal Miner’s Daughter, which was made into an Oscar-winning film starring Sissy Spacek as Loretta.

In 2013, Lynn was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Loretta Lynn is connected to over 90 million people on Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?

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Image: Scott Schram, Wikimedia Commons