Sarah Ophelia Colley was born in Centerville, TN. She first created the “Cousin Minnie Pearl” character in 1939. She’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry for 50 years and the Hee Haw TV show for 22 years. She would always say her signature introduction: “Howdy! I’m just so proud to be here!”. Her humor was mostly self deprecating, recounting attempts of attracting “a feller’s” attention and in her later years, she made stories of her comical relatives like “Lucifer Hucklehead”, “Miss Lizzie Tinkum”. She always end her monologues with “I love you so much it hurts!”. In 1971, she was inducted into the country music hall of fame and in 1992, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts by the US Congress.