I would like to thank Dolly Parton for making it possible for my 100 year old, ultra conservative grandfather to bring up and delight in mixed company conversations about boobies.
To date I’m not aware of any replacement posessing that extraordinary skill.
Who the heck is Kim Kardashian? And no, I guess I don’t care enough to look it up.
Just because someone has large breasts doesn’t make them the next Dolly Parton. I’d probably put Pamela Anderson in the same league; she’s just about as well-known, is at least partially famous because of her mammary endowment, and is an entertainer, of sorts.
Neither Pamela Anderson or Dolly Parton do anything for me, however, even in their hey-days which, for both, are far in the past.
Reality TV star, daughter of the late Robert Kardashian (one of O.J. Simpson’s defense lawyers at his murder trial), stepdaughter of triathlete Bruce Jenner, on-and-off girlfriend of NFL running back Reggie Bush. Curvy girl, but mostly known for her derriere, rather than her bosom. No really appreciable talents to speak of, IMO.
Nope. Falsies…
Not entirely.
From your article.
“Fender work” 
Well yeah. I don’t think too many people go from an A to a DD. I think even Pamela Anderson was pretty well endowed before she became the 90s version of “that chick with the giant melons.”
Yeah, she was naturally well-endowed. Here are pictures from her old days with Porter Wagoner (1967 or so). Well before any Hollywood plastic surgeon would have laid hands on her.
But I’m sure she has taken some steps to defy gravity (and perhaps enhance nature) over the years. 
According to this, Dolly probably didn’t have any work done until the 1980s.
Lara Croft, probably.
Salma Hayek maybe?
Nobody has quite the ubiquitousness that Dolly Parton possessed. She was such a prominent figure for so long, that’s how she became the pop culture reference she is. Nobody has come close to that kind of market saturation to be the Dolly Parton replacement.
Pamela Anderson is the closest, with Jennifer Love Hewitt carrying some market share. There are plenty of pop culture refs that the kiddies will get that haven’t made it to a lot of folks over 30.
Though Madonna got a bit, not from breast size, but shape via wardrobe. The pointy cone breasts carry her name.
(Amusing anecdote: there’s an office building near here known for it’s profile where there are two pointed projections on the front of the building. I have heard it referred to as “the Dolly Parton building” and “the Madonna building” for this reason. Both in the last 5 years.
Quoth Onomatopoeia:
To mainstream audiences, she’s probably best known for her role on Mad Men (don’t know the character name); nerds may know her better as Saffron, a recurring role on Firefly.
Back to the OP, Teri Hatcher sometimes gets the same pop-culture treatment, largely from her guest appearance on Seinfeld: “They’re real, and they’re spectacular”. Still nowhere near the public-consciousness penetration as Dolly, though.
Not an office building, but a couple of big mounds near a gypsum mine are locally known as The Dolly Parton Hills. They’ve flattened somewhat over the years though.
It’s Pam Anderson or it’s no one. Not that, in the 21st century, I’ve heard anyone but maybe Jay Leno or my racist, sexist uncle make a joke based on big boobs.
I don’t have a candidate, but I would suggest Jayne Mansfield for the generation before Dolly, in case anyone is interested in mapping the entire dynasty.
No, Raquel Welch was the go-to boob reference pre-Dolly.
You live in Cincinnati?
Yep - Jayne Mansfield had big knockers, but her heyday was over (due to death) before the Raquel Welch era. And those pictures remind me that before Raquel, Sophia Loren was probably the better known big-boob reference. Before her, it would have been Jane Russell, then I guess Mae West.
Going with the ass angle, there was a time a few years ago when comedians, talk show hosts, etc. couldn’t stop talking about Jennifer Lopez’s big booty.
