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Dolly Parton posing for a photograph.

Dolly Parton TV Special Airs On ABC — ‘Dolly Parton: Here She Comes Again!’

On November 12, an exclusive Dolly Parton TV special aired on ABC! Did you get the chance to watch? This TV event featured Dolly like you’ve never seen before, with the country superstar opening up about everything from the struggles in her past to her success today. If you weren’t able to watch, you’re in luck. We have the trailer from “Dolly Parton: Here She Comes Again!” and some highlights of what she talked about!

‘Dolly Parton: Here She Comes Again!’

In the ABC News Special, “Dolly Parton: Here She Comes Again!,” Dolly opened up to “Good Morning America” co-anchor, Robin Roberts, about her life and her career. She talked about the dark times she went through in the 1980s and how her family’s support and her Christian faith is what pulled her through, she talked about how she met her husband Carl Dean outside of a laundromat, and she talked about the famous 1980 movie “9 to 5” and even hinted that she’d love to do a sequel! The special also included exclusive, rare videos of Dolly and showed footage from her first interview with Barbara Walters from 1977.

But that’s not all! During the special, we also learned that Dolly Parton DOES have tattoos that she keeps hidden from the public. And guess what they are — butterflies! Parton told Roberts that she got them to cover up scars because she can never “get rid of that purple look.” She decided to decorate them with some flowers and butterflies instead!

Here are more things that were discussed in the Dolly Parton TV special:

  • cassete tapes sitting on a notebookShe still writes songs on legal pads and uses cassette players she gets off of eBay
  • She formed The Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to cut school dropout rates in Sevier County, TN
  • She established the Imagination Library program in 1995, which sends one book per month to children from birth through kindergarten
  • She doesn’t openly call herself a feminist, but instead writes about it and creates anthems for women, like “9 to 5” and “Dumb Blonde”

Best Dolly Parton Quotes from ‘Dolly Parton: Here She Comes Again!”

We all know Dolly is full of one-liners that can cause a laugh or warm the hearts of everyone. Check out the best quotes from the ABC special:

Regarding the day she left home to start her music career: “I thought, well, I can’t be any poorer than I already am, and I’m a girl. I’ll find some boy that’ll take me to Shoney’s… I thought, I’m not going to go hungry.”

Her secret to her long-lasting marriage with Carl Dean: “Stay gone … Actually there’s a lot of truth in not being together all the time.”

On going through tough times: “People always look at me, they always say, ‘Oh, you just always seem to be so happy.’ I said, ‘That’s the Botox.’ No, but seriously, I’m a very sensitive person. I feel everything to the core.”

showstreet theater at dollywoodOn her dream of opening Dollywood in the 1980s: “My lawyers, and my accountants and a lot of people that I was working with at the time said I was making a big mistake … I just knew it was right and … I got rid of all those people, started over with new people that did believe in my dreams.”

On her relationship with female artists: “[I’m] Aunt Dolly, I’m like that mother figure. I’m the one that’s older now to kind of look down on the kids and say, ‘OK, come on, you can do it and you’re doing great. I’m proud of you.’”

More Dolly Parton Projects

2019 has been a big year for Dolly Parton! Here are some upcoming projects you have to look forward to:

“Heartstrings” – “Heartstrings” comes to Netflix on Nov. 22! This 8-part series highlights 8 of Parton’s famous hits, including “Jolene” and “These Old Bones.” In the Netflix series, the songs are brought to life as each episode shares the stories behind each of the songs. Dolly will be featured in “Heartstrings,” as well as other popular actors and actresses like Julianne Hough, Dallas Roberts and Kyle Bornheimer.

“Christmas at Dollywood” – This holiday season, watch “Christmas at Dollywood” on the Hallmark Channel on Dec. 8! The movie is about a single mom and Broadway producer who seeks out a job at Dollywood to produce a show for the Smoky Mountain Christmas festival. She then meets the Dollywood entertainment director, who is more interested in promotion than the show. The film synopsis says, “As the pair meets in the middle to please the boss, little do Rachel and Luke realize love lurks in all the unexpected places because this isn’t the Great White Way. Or Hollywood. This is Dollywood!”

children's books sitting on a shelf“The Library That Dolly Built” – This feature-length documentary covers the history, impact and future of Dolly’s Imagination Library. The Imagination Library is America’s largest non-governmental children’s literacy program. The documentary features Dolly Parton music and has original interviews with recipients of the books, parents, policymakers, authors, and of course, Dolly Parton herself. You can expect for the documentary to be released in spring of 2020.

To learn more about Dolly Parton, read our blog, “8 Fun Facts About Dolly Parton You Probably Don’t Know.”