No one other than singer/songwriter/superstar Dolly Parton (January 19, 1946-August 25, 2026) could get Jane Fonda and Donald Trump to agree. But the American icon’s recent departure had both of them posting their grief and gratitude on social media.
Parton, who stayed out of politics and declined the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump and Biden, diplomatically told USA Today, “I have as many Republican fans as I do Democrats. I don’t want to offend anybody, I have a right to myself.”
With her passing, Tennessee State Senator Jessie Seal (R-New Tazewell) is proposing legislation to celebrate Parton’s legacy on September 25 (9/25) with 9 to 5 Day. This comes after the president said on Truth Social, “There has never been anyone like her, and never will. In her honor, I am lowering the American flag throughout the United States…Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you.”
Fonda, Parton’s 9 to 5 (1980) co-star, took to Instagram to say, “I know that millions are mourning and I want to say this—more than anyone I have ever known, Dolly will always be with us because she was so present, so powerful, so generous and playful that she is woven into all our lives and hearts forever. We have our memories of her, her songs, Dollywood, 9 to 5, the millions of books she got into the hands of children, all the iconic images that bring her to us. And they are all blessings.”
These blessings include the hit songs “Jolene” (1973), “Here You Come Again” (1977) and “I Will Always Love You” (1973, later recorded by Whitney Huston in 1992); the children’s book Coat of Many Colors (1994), autobiography Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business (1994), and cook book Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s (2006).
Throughout her 60-year career, the Queen of Country appeared on the TV series Hannah Montana (2006-2010) and in movies such as the People’s Choice Winning drama Steel Magnolias (1994) along with her own biopics Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors (2015) and Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love (2016), in which she plays a prostitute who befriends her younger self (Alyvia Alyn Lind).
This December, Hello, I’m Dolly will debut on Broadway. Written and produced by Parton, the stage musical follows her rags-to-riches story “from her barefoot beginnings in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee to performing in platform heels under the bright lights of Hollywood.”
Because her father couldn’t read or write, Parton launched the Imagination Library Program. To date, this initiative has given more than 332 million books to children via her Dollywood Foundation in Sevier County, Tennessee, which is home to her theme park Dollywood.
While Parton’s many achievements and accolades (eleven Grammys, three Emmys, one Tony, etc.) are beyond impressive, she wanted to be remembered “as somebody who took her work serious, but not herself.” As such, Dolly leaves behind many amusing and insightful quotes, ensuring her fans will always love her.
Looks
“I would never stoop so low as to be fashionable.”
“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”
“I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb — and I’m not blonde either.”
“Old people who shine from the inside look 10 to 20 years younger.”
“Smile, it increases your face value.”
Love
“I think of country radio like a great lover: you were nice to me, you gave me a lot of cool stuff, and then you dumped my ass for another woman.”
“I strengthen the muscles around my heart, but I can’t harden it.”
“My weaknesses have always been food and men — in that order.”
“Me and God have a great relationship, but we’re both seeing other people.”
Life
“I was born with a happy heart. I’ve always tried to let that shine even during my dark times. I’m one of those people who, even if things are not right, goes about trying to make it as right as I can rather than just lying around on my ass and wallowing in it all day.”
“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
“Don’t be a coward. Know who you are. Do what you do, don’t be so easily influenced by other people, don’t be insecure about it. You know who you are. If you don’t, you need to find out, pretty soon, you can’t live your whole life trying to please other people. And so I would just say go for it.”
“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”
“Nothing’s ever easy. If it is, it ain’t worth it.”
“I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.”
“I make a point to appreciate all the little things in my life. I go out and smell the air after a good, hard rain. I re-read passages from my favorite books. I hold the little treasures that somebody special gave me. These small actions help remind me that there are so many great, glorious pieces of good in the world.”
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
Credit: Photo by Van Redin – © 2011 Alcon Film Fund, LLC.
Legacy
“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.”
“You’re only poor if you choose to be. Meaning: you can be rich in spirit, you can be rich in thought, you can be rich in talent and you can be rich in all those wonderful things.”
“I think you need to make friends with yourself, you need to be your own best friend. You need to know who you are, and there’s that famous saying of mine is to find out who you are, do it on purpose, and with purpose. Because you really need to know who you are.”
“The magic is inside you. There ain’t no crystal ball.”