‘Moonshiners’ Star Danielle Parton Used Her Famous Last Name To Build a Whisky Empire

The moonshine business isn't easy to fall into, and Moonshiners fans have witnessed that truth firsthand. The Discovery Channel show follows a diverse group of people living in Appalachia who carry on a 200-year-old tradition passed down from their forefathers, making moonshine. In the case of many popular moonshiners, the success of a profitable business is all about who you know more than what you know about the industry.

While nepotism plays a role in the moonshine world, much like other industries, Danielle Parton knows a thing or two about forging her own path as a member of a high-profile family. Though she shares the same last name as her famous aunt, Dolly Parton, Danielle has successfully forged her own path as a moonshine entrepreneur.

Here's what to know about the Moonshiners star!

Danielle began appearing on Moonshiners in 2022. She became a cast member after reaching out to longtime stars Mark and Digger about her moonshine brand, . Danielle said on the show and on her moonshine's website that her family's love for moonshine, a love that started from her "Papaw" and her dad and aunt Dolly's father, Robert Lee Parton's career in the whisky business.

"My Papaw Lee Parton was known to make a little Shine to help support his family," Danielle explained on her website. "My Mamaw Avie Lee Parton wasn’t thrilled with this idea, but it happened all the same. Probably less thrilled with him being the primary tester than a distiller!"

The entrepreneur parlayed her family's history of moonshine into one of her businesses.

Danielle said she launched her distillery business with women in mind, something her aunt Dolly approved of. She even allowed her niece to use her name in one of her moonshine drinks, the Dollymosa.

“She’s been completely supportive of me,” she said of Dolly in an interview with Garden and Gun. “She understands what it takes to build a business because she’s such a working girl herself, such a hustler, always hustling, doing her own thing. I guess I am a little like that.”

Although moonshine runs in her family, Danielle's business isn't the only career path she wants to forge. Before entering the distilling world, she was the first in her family to earn a college degree in business administration at Belmont University. Then, Danielle served as a U.S. Air Force veteran and continues working as a commercial airline pilot. She reportedly works for one of the most successful commercial airlines.

However, Danielle admits her love for the thrill of pursuing multiple passions means she could always pursue a new passion at any moment.

"I’m just not fit for repetitive office work,” she said. “I have a gypsy soul.”

For now, Danielle is enjoying her time on Moonshiners and spreading the word that the male-centered industry is for the girls, too.