The news hurts. There is simply no getting around that. Remembering Dolly Parton today comes with a sadness that is hard to put into words. Dolly Parton, one of the most beloved entertainers America has ever produced, has passed away at the age of 80. Her family announced the news Tuesday, while her publicist said she passed peacefully in Nashville.
But while we mourn Dolly Parton, we also want to celebrate her. Remembering Dolly Parton means remembering far more than the songs, movies, awards and unmistakable image that made her famous around the world. What a life there is to celebrate. What a talent. What a personality. What a human being.
There are stars, there are legends and then there are those incredibly rare people who somehow become part of our lives even though most of us never really knew them. Dolly Parton was one of those people. You could love country music or barely listen to it. You could know every word to “Jolene” or simply recognize that unmistakable voice when it came over the radio. Maybe you knew her from the movies, from Dollywood or from seeing her on television. Somehow, Dolly seemed to belong to everybody. You can’t manufacture that kind of connection, and we’re not sure we’re ever going to see anyone quite like her again.
Dolly Parton never forgot where she came from
Long before the rhinestones, movie premieres, sold-out concerts and worldwide fame, there was a little girl growing up as one of 12 children in rural Tennessee. The family didn’t have much money, but Parton had something that couldn’t be bought. She had an extraordinary imagination, an ability to tell stories and, eventually, the determination to find out just how far those gifts might take her. They took her farther than almost anyone could have imagined.
She became a country music giant, although even that description eventually became too small. Songs including “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You” became part of American music history. Parton wrote thousands of songs during her lifetime, sold more than 100 million records and earned enough honors to fill an awfully long list. Then came the movies, television appearances, books, businesses and, of course, Dollywood. Yet the bigger her life became, the more remarkable it seemed that she never allowed the person underneath all that success to disappear.
There was always a wink and usually a joke, often one aimed at herself. Parton understood the Dolly image better than anyone and clearly had a wonderful time playing with it. The huge hair, sparkling clothes and larger-than-life personality were all part of the package. Behind them, though, was an enormously talented songwriter, entertainer and very smart businesswoman who seemed perfectly comfortable letting people underestimate her.
Her approach to life may explain a lot
Over the years, we had the opportunity to speak with Dolly Parton, and one of the things that remains with us today is the attitude she brought to her work. In one of our conversations, Parton shared a philosophy that seemed to serve her remarkably well throughout her career: do the best work you can, put everything you have into it and don’t spend too much time worrying about what other people think.
Click on the media bar below to hear Dolly Parton.
Looking back at everything she accomplished, maybe that simple philosophy explains quite a bit. She was unmistakably herself. There was never any confusion when Dolly Parton walked into a room, appeared on a screen or started singing. She didn’t spend her life trying to become somebody else’s idea of what a country singer, actress, businesswoman or celebrity was supposed to be. She figured out who Dolly was and went all in. Thankfully for the rest of us, she took us along for the ride.
That authenticity became a huge part of what we think about when remembering Dolly Parton. She could be glamorous without seeming distant, successful without forgetting her beginnings and funny without ever appearing to take herself too seriously. People didn’t simply admire what she accomplished. They felt connected to the person accomplishing it.
Dolly Parton’s greatest legacy wasn’t hanging on a wall
You could fill a very large room with Parton’s awards, but some of the most important things she accomplished never came with a trophy. Her Imagination Library began in 1995, inspired in part by her father’s inability to read and write. What started in her home county in Tennessee grew into an international literacy program providing free books to young children. By the end of 2025, the program had gifted more than 300 million books around the world.
Think about that for a moment. More than 300 million books. That’s millions upon millions of opportunities for a child to discover a story, learn a new word, sit with a parent or perhaps begin dreaming a little bigger. When people talk about Dolly Parton’s charity work and philanthropy, the numbers are remarkable. The individual lives behind those numbers matter even more.
Her generosity is another part of remembering Dolly Parton that deserves attention. After devastating wildfires struck her home region in Tennessee in 2016, Parton’s My People Fund stepped in to help families who had lost their homes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she donated $1 million to research at Vanderbilt University that helped support development of the Moderna vaccine. For all the jokes, glamour and show business, she understood that success gave her an opportunity to do some good with it. And she did.
Then there was 9 to 5
Of course, we can’t celebrate Dolly Parton without smiling a little, and few things capture that side of her quite like 9 to 5. The 1980 comedy gave Parton her first major movie role, putting her alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in a film that was very funny while also having something very real to say about women and the workplace. Parton didn’t merely star in it. She also wrote and performed that unforgettable title song.
More than four decades later, 9 to 5 can still make you smile, and that’s part of what makes revisiting it today feel so appropriate. The movie captures Parton at a moment when audiences were discovering that her talents went far beyond country music. She was funny, warm and completely natural on screen, holding her own alongside two established movie stars as though she had been doing it for years.
Over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to speak with Dolly Parton about 9 to 5, which she starred in alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Parton told us that even while they were making the movie, they understood they were part of something that could make a real difference for women in the workplace.
Click on the media bar below to hear Dolly Parton
There is something especially wonderful about watching 9 to 5 today. The message is still there, and so is the fun. Parton, acting opposite two established stars in her first feature film, looked as though she had been doing it forever.
Thank you, Dolly
There will be plenty written about Dolly Parton in the days ahead. There should be. Her remarkable life and career deserve to be celebrated. Her songs deserve to keep being played, and the enormous reach of her charitable work deserves to be remembered. But maybe there is something else worth remembering too. Something much simpler.
She made people happy. That sounds simple until you really think about how difficult it is. For decades, Dolly Parton could walk onto a stage, tell a story, sing a song, deliver a punchline or simply flash that enormous smile, and somehow you felt a little better afterward. There was a warmth about her that crossed generations. Parents loved Dolly. Their children loved Dolly. Eventually, their grandchildren did too. That may be one of the nicest parts of Dolly Parton’s lasting legacy.
Maybe that’s what remembering Dolly Parton will ultimately mean for so many people: remembering somebody who could make you feel a little happier simply by being herself.
So yes, today is terribly sad. But we’d rather say thank you than simply say goodbye. Thank you for the songs. Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for the movies. Thank you for all those books sent to children who might otherwise never have received one. Thank you for helping people when they needed it. Thank you for remembering the place you came from after the entire world learned your name.
And thank you for making us smile.
Of all the remarkable work Dolly Parton leaves behind, one of the nicest ways to remember her may also be one of the simplest. Put on something that makes you smile. For us, 9 to 5 is a pretty wonderful place to start. Watching Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin take on their terrible boss can still make you laugh all these years later, and Dolly absolutely lights up the screen.
9 to 5 is available on DVD and digital platforms, including Amazon.
What a life.
What a person.
And what a gift Dolly Parton was.
