I had one of those frilly, iconic Dolly Parton dresses, the kind sold at her exclusive boutique in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I learned her name around the time I was old enough to learn my own. When eastern Tennessee is your family’s favorite vacation spot, and when it becomes the place you eventually move and birth your baby boys, you have no choice but to feel as though Dolly Parton is an old friend.
Her pink rhinestone world meshed with her southern charm and small-town Christian values, making her irresistible. She brought a rare enthusiasm to every stage she was on, whether charming folks with her 1980s roles in Steel Magnolias or 9 to 5, or warming hearts with Christmas music numbers like “Hard Candy Christmas”.
And, well, her plastic surgery… it was just part of her iconic charm, right? She had the waist and the hair every woman wanted, but she was too honey-sweet for anyone to be jealous, let alone judge her cosmetic choices.
In Tennessee, I’m quite sure folks will mourn her indefinitely, perhaps even wear not black but pink to grieve her loss and celebrate her life.
She also carried a charisma that made her attractive to non-believers, and, in a sense, she showed them a piece of the gospel that they couldn’t ignore… or deny in its rich, enticing depth.
To honor Dolly’s life and legacy, I want to highlight three characteristics of the gospel-filled life that Dolly exuded:
1. Humility
This one might seem contradictory given Dolly’s flashy fashion, but her roots are incredibly humble. Her children’s book, Coat of Many Colors, highlights the beautiful patched quilt coat her mother made from scrap fabrics because her family couldn’t afford a winter coat. And as one might expect, this book was inspired by the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors (Genesis 37).
Dolly had many siblings, a father with an unpredictable, temperamental character, and a shabby home in a less shiny district of the mountains of Tennessee. However, her God-given voice pulled her from her economic situation. She grew in popularity as a singer and actress, but she never forgot where she came from—she wasn’t bitter about her upbringing either. Rather, it became a launching pad for her to serve others.
She created The Imagination Library, a reading program that sends children a free book each month for their first four years of life, promoting literacy to ensure children aren’t set back as they begin their education. This started in Tennessee, but it has spread across the Southeast, providing millions of books to children. (My oldest son’s first Imagination Library book was The Little Engine That Could, including a special note from Dolly about the encouragement this book always brought to her. How sweet is that?)
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.” Luke 6:38
2. Joy
Have you heard of Dollywood, Dolly’s Tennessee amusement park? It includes thrilling roller coasters, musical performances, local artisan crafts, and seasonal celebrations, including Christmas lights and spring gardens, making it one of East Tennessee’s largest tourist attractions. (Bonus points that it also includes a beautiful, all-wood chapel!)
What I love, and often jokingly repeat to my husband, is the park’s slogan: “Dollywood, love every moment.” Dolly pursued, discovered, and protected joy in her life. It was a joy uninhibited by her hard childhood, unfettered by Hollywood’s vicious, dark temptations, and preserved by her faith in Jesus.
Was Dolly perfect? No. Did she ever speak into political and social matters with remarks that weren’t biblical? Yes, but that makes Dolly a human. We too easily expect Christians in the limelight to actually be a savior, as if they aren’t as susceptible to sin and failures as the rest of us.
Nonetheless, joy was impossible to deny in her life, and she kept it with a vivacity that is only sustained and rooted in contentment through the work of the Holy Spirit.
“Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:6-11
3. Beauty
I’m in my thirties now, which means I’m not old, but I’m recognizing those not-so-kind signs of aging. Gray hairs are sprigging here and there, crow’s feet are pressing on the creases of my eyes, and my knees rudely crack when I kneel on the floor. To lighten this reality, I jokingly quote Dolly Parton as Truvy Jones in Steel Magnolias when she says, “Time marches on and eventually you realize it is marchin’ across your face.”
Clearly, Dolly Parton fought this reality with every surgical option possible, but aside from the physical beauty she longed to preserve (whether you consider her efforts a success or not), she had a beautiful presence that reminds us of the beauty of our Savior.
Ecclesiastes 3:11-14 highlights this beauty when it says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.”
In a world riddled with sin, where flowers fade, and our bodies decay, it’s easy to take a pessimistic view of beauty, to see it as an unnecessary add-on rather than a quality of God. We forget that God’s original intent for life was beauty. Eden was encapsulated in it. Everything, from vegetation to animals to human beings, was a direct reflection of God’s creativity, of the life He has given us through beauty.
Dolly knew this. She appreciated it so much that her iconic signature always included a butterfly beside her name. She was always decked in bright colors, hosting spring celebrations at Dollywood, and designing the perfect dainty dresses for little girls. She saw God’s beauty in nature, in people, in the works of human hands.
I imagine that, like famous Christian songwriter Phil Wickham, Dolly often looked up to the heavens and said, “You’re beautiful.”
Wickham’s song, You’re Beautiful, showcases lyrics that reflect not only the joy of Dolly’s life but the promise of the beautiful, joyful, untainted life she now enjoys in eternity:
I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You’re beautiful…
When we arrive at eternity’s shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing
You’re beautiful
Oh, You’re beautiful.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Rich Fury/Staff
The dress pictured below: ©Peyton Garland
Let us know your favorite Dolly song in our forums!
Originally published August 26, 2026.
