All About Blake Shelton's Mom Dorothy Shackleford

Get to know the “Happy Anywhere" singer’s mom, Dorothy Shackleford

Blake Shelton isn't the only artist in his family — he gets it from his mom, Dorothy Shackleford.

Dorothy, a songwriter, author, artist and retired hairdresser, co-wrote a holiday song with her son, "Time for Me to Come Home,” which later became the basis for a novel of the same name and inspired a Hallmark Christmas movie franchise.

The “Happy Anywhere” singer is one of Dorothy’s three children. She had one child, the late Richie, with her first husband, Ronnie Musgrove, and two children, daughter Endy Shelton Intrieri and son Blake, with her second husband, Dick Shelton. After they divorced, Dorothy married Mike Shackleford, Blake’s first boss.

Blake has always been close to his mom, who encouraged him to pursue his musical dreams.

“When my mom pulls into the driveway, I don’t roll my eyes like a lot of people do when they see their mom coming,” he told CMT in 2011. “I’m excited because she’s so much fun to be around, the older I get, especially.”

Dorothy told Today that she wasn’t surprised to see her son’s popularity skyrocket after he joined The Voice, which he was part of for 12 years.

“Even when he was young, people took to him, because he's been like that all his life, just a jokester, cut up, crazy, bug you to death, pester. I mean, that’s him,” Dorothy said, adding that she thought he got his personality from both her and his late father.

Here's everything to know about Blake Shelton’s mother, Dorothy Shackleford.

She is a mom of three

Dorothy Ann (née Bristol) Shackleford was born and raised in Oklahoma, and she brought up her children in the Sooner State.

Dorothy and her first husband, Ronnie Musgrove, had one son together, Richie, born in 1966. Richie died in a car accident in 1990 at age 24. Blake was 14 at the time and would later tell Cowboys & Indians in 2018 that he was "still not over” his brother's death.

Dorothy then married Richard Lee “Dick” Shelton, a U.S. Army veteran and car salesman, and they had two children together, daughter Endy Shelton Intrieri, born in 1972, and Blake, born in 1976, before divorcing. Dick died in Oklahoma on January 17, 2012.

Blake introduced his mom to her third husband, Mike Shackleford.

“[My first] job was good to me and good for me. In fact, I ended up introducing my boss Mike to my mother, and they got married, and they’re still married 20-some years later,” the “God’s Country” singer told C&I.

Dorothy also has two grandchildren, Endy’s son Ryan and daughter Jace, and three step-grandchildren, Blake Shelton's wife Gwen Stefani’s three sons, Kingston, Zuma and Apollo.

She co-wrote a Christmas song with her son

Blake isn’t the only songwriter in his family.

Dorothy co-wrote and sings on “Time for Me to Come Home,” off Blake’s 2012 Christmas album, Cheers, It's Christmas.

When Blake needed help with the second verse, he turned to his mom. Dorothy performed the festive tune with Blake during his holiday special that year, Blake Shelton’s Not So Family Christmas — which marked her first time singing with her son on stage.

"That thrilled me but at the same time it made me very nervous because I'm not a great singer," Dorothy told Country Living in 2018. "I just about passed out, but somehow I got through it."

Shelton shared on his and wife Gwen Stefani’s recording of From Apple Music With Love that his mom had tried her hand at songwriting throughout the years and often offered her son suggestions.

"And so, finally, when I was making my Christmas album, I said, 'Mom, lets me and you write a song together, and you can sing it with me on my album,” he shared. "And there's your Lucille Ball moment. You can finally have your moment to be famous.' "

Dorothy told Today in 2013 that she’s written "hundreds” of songs over the years, joking, “Nobody will record them, but I have.”

She is an author

Along with writer Travis Thrasher, Dorothy is the co-author of Time for Me to Come Home. The 2013 novel was based off the song of the same title that Dorothy co-wrote with Blake.

The book's main character, Oklahoma-born country singer Heath Sawyer, has some noticeable similarities to Blake. That includes his wit, having a father who died, and, as Dorothy told Today, “they both like to drink a lot — that’s the main thing.”

The novel was turned into a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie of the same name, starring Josh Henderson and Megan Park. The made-for-TV movie premiered in December 2018 and led to a Time to Come Home for Christmas franchise that includes five additional movies.

She was a hairdresser — and cut Blake’s infamous mullets

Dorothy always knew she wanted to be a hairstylist, even writing so in her senior yearbook.

She followed her passion and owned several beauty shops during her 41 years in the profession. It’s well known that Blake rocked a mullet for years, and Dorothy cut many of them — though she’s not the one who cut it off for good. (That happened when Blake was in Nashville.)

“It really was embarrassing to have somebody know you gave that haircut, but that was the style!” Dorothy admitted to Nan Kelley of One Pan Nan.

When Blake’s hometown of Ada, Oklahoma, threw a soiree in his honor in September 2014, Dorothy put her training to good use. During the "Block Party for Blake" to celebrate the release of his ninth studio album, Bringing Back the Sunshine, Dorothy was the proud judge for the mullet, Blake look-alike and karaoke singing contests.

She has always been supportive of Blake’s dreams — even entering him in a beauty pageant!

Blake told Parade in 2017 that “the best piece of advice my mom ever gave me is, ‘Don’t be afraid to follow your dreams.’ ”

As a kid, Blake used to take household items like spoons into his bedroom to use as faux microphones as he sang along to his favorite cassette tapes.

His mom used to watch him from the doorway and “thought it was pretty cute,” so she entered him in his hometown’s beauty pageant. Blake was not a big fan of being the only boy around three dozen girls.

“I did okay in the talent portion of the pageant, but I told Mom, ‘If that's what I have to do to sing, I don't want to sing anymore,’ ” Blake told Access Hollywood in 2001. “My beauty pageant days were short-lived!”

Encouraged by his mom, the Barmageddon star later entered talent shows, and in the years to come he went on to release 12 studio albums and score eight Grammy nominations.

Blake spends holidays with his mom (especially Christmas)

One of Blake and wife Gwen’s earliest family celebrations as a couple was Thanksgiving 2016. Their large crew included Blake’s mom, Gwen's three sons and her dad, Dennis Stefani. Gwen documented the festivities, which included mismatched china, ‘80s singalongs, large turkeys and plenty of camo.

Birthdays are often spent with mom too. Dorothy shared a sweet Facebook post of herself and Gwen singing “Happy Birthday” to “Blakey” in June 2017, before embracing her son in a hug and declaring, "I birthed this big thang.”

Blake and Gwen spent much of the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Oklahoma ranch, which was convenient for holidays like Thanksgiving.

"The simple pleasure of being together in one place for an extended period of time has been a real gift,” Blake told PEOPLE in July 2020. "We cook, we clean, we ride four-wheelers and we just enjoy being with each other and with family."

Most importantly, Dorothy’s son is always home for Christmas.

“Blake has never missed a Christmas. I would die,” Dorothy told KTEN News.

She was by Blake’s side when he got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Along with daughter Endy and Endy’s husband and kids, Dorothy traveled from Oklahoma to be by Blake’s side when he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"I was talking to my mom this morning, and I was just thinking about what I'm gonna say when I get up here," Blake said during his acceptance speech. "She says to me, 'I wish Richie could've been here to see this and everything that you've done.' So I dedicate my star on this Walk of Fame to my brother Richie."

Blake is as supportive of his mom as she is for him. In a simple and sweet Instagram post for Mother's Day 2018, the “Came Here to Forget” crooner shared a photo with Dorothy and wrote, “I love you!”

She is an artist and crafter who loves to create

Dorothy’s Oklahoma home is filled with crafting supplies and art projects, which include upcycled crosses and pet portraits. She also co-owns Junk Stars, an eclectic store in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.

“I love to take something ugly and make it pretty,” she told Nan.

Dorothy once took an old saw and plastered it with pictures of Blake, donating the proceeds from the piece to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a non-profit she often raises money for.

During an American Country Countdown interview, Blake told Kix Brooks that his mom has been an artist and “great painter” since he was a kid.

“She’s always been creative, you know? But now that she’s been retired for a few years, she’s taken her artwork to the next level and spends more time with it,” the “Sangria” singer explained. “My mom will be awake until two, three o’clock in the morning every night, painting or crafting or making stuff to put in her store. She just gets lost in it.”

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