8 Ways Dolly Parton Was More Like Us Than You Think

Dolly Parton was one of the biggest stars in the world, but if you ever spent any time around her, or listened closely to the stories people tell about her, you quickly realize something: Dolly was incredibly normal.

Well, normal — with a few more rhinestones.

She had the wigs, the big hair, the legendary voice, the millions of records sold and Dollywood.

But she also had some very relatable habits and quirks that made her seem less like an untouchable superstar and more like somebody you might run into at the grocery store.

Here are eight things about Dolly Parton that prove she was just like us.

Dolly Parton Was a Huge Elvis Presley Fan

Dolly Parton was a superstar, but she was also a fan. Not just a come and go fan of Presley’s, she loved Elvis Presley.

Her admiration for Elvis goes way back, and she has talked many times about how much she loved him and his music.

She even recorded “I Dreamed About Elvis” for her 2023 Rockstar album, which revisited her famous story of Elvis wanting to record “I Will Always Love You.” Dolly Parton was basically a modern-day fan girl when it came to Presley.

That’s something all of us can understand. We can have our own careers, families and responsibilities, but there’s always that one artist we would completely lose our minds over if they walked into the room.

For Parton it was Presley, while for many of the rest of us, it was Parton herself.

That makes it all the more extraordinary that Parton turned Presley down when he wanted to record “I Will Always Love You.” It wasn’t that she didn’t want him to sing her song — in fact, Parton was thrilled when she first heard The King wanted to cut it — but Presley would only cut the song on the condition that he could retain half the publishing rights. That was something Parton wouldn’t give up.

Parton has said that she never blamed Presley, and knew that it was a savvy business move from his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. She was devastated, but she put the kibosh on the cover.

Read More: Here’s Why Dolly Parton Turned Down Elvis Presley Recording “I Will Always Love You”

“And I cried all night. ‘Cause I thought, ‘Oh, I just pictured Elvis, like, singing it,'” she later told Reba McEntire on an installment of the Living & Learning With Reba McEntire podcast. “And I know that Elvis loved it. And I know it wasn’t him, but it’s true. I said ‘no.'”

Dolly Would Actually Wait in Line at Dollywood

This might be my favorite Parton story.

I asked her about this during an interview back in 2023 on Taste of Country Nights and I honestly wasn’t expecting the answer I got.

Parton told me she wasn’t big on jumping the line at Dollywood… even though, you know, she kind of owns the place.

She said if she was going to go somewhere inside the park, she would wait her turn because it wouldn’t be right to go ahead of people who had been waiting and who had paid to be there.

I remember thinking at that moment: ‘Are we sure we’re talking about Dolly Parton here?’

Most celebrities don’t have to wait in line for anything. Parton could probably get whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted.

But she understood that everybody else had paid for their day at Dollywood and deserved their turn. That’s about as relatable as it gets.

Dolly Parton Was Never Without a Giant Stanley Cup

If you’ve ever seen Parton out and about, you’ve probably noticed that giant cup that seems to follow her everywhere.

Carrie St. Louis, who played Parton in Dolly: A True Original Musical, told me that Parton “Has like a little thermos-type thing with a straw, like a Stanley.”

And now, of course, Parton actually has her own coffee brand, Cup of Ambition.

Read More: Dolly Parton’s Launches Coffee Brand Called ‘Cup of Ambition’

But there’s something very funny about one of the most famous women on Earth having the same relationship with a giant coffee cup that so many of us have.

Bigger hair. Bigger personality. Bigger coffee cup.

Dolly Parton Wrote The Actors In Her Broadway Musical a Note When She Couldn’t Make It to Work

This one might be the most “Dolly is actually one of us” story of them all.

After Carl Dean died, Parton wasn’t able to make it to rehearsal for her Broadway musical.

And what did she do? She wrote a note excusing herself from work.

Obviously, there was nothing ordinary about the circumstances. She had just lost her husband of nearly 60 years, and nobody would have questioned her absence.

But there’s something relatable about the fact that she still had to essentially say, “I’m sorry, I can’t make it in today.”

Even Dolly Parton had to call out of work.

Dolly Parton Always Smelled Really Good

I’ve always been fascinated by this one. Carrie St. Louis, who played Dolly in Dolly: A True Original Musical, told me that Dolly has a very distinct smell. In fact, she said that after hugging Dolly, you could walk away smelling like her for the rest of the day.

That’s incredible.

And honestly, I think a lot of us can relate to having a particular perfume, cologne, lotion or combination of smells that people associate with us.

Her signature scent, Smoky Mountain Gold, has become such a part of her identity that people can apparently identify somebody who has hugged her.

Dolly Parton Loved Cheap Drugstore Beauty Products

You would assume Dolly Parton has access to every expensive beauty product ever created, which she did. But that doesn’t mean she used them.

Parton has talked about still loving simple drugstore products, including Pond’s Cold Cream and Maybelline beauty products. She has even said that sometimes the inexpensive stuff works better than the expensive stuff.

That might be the most relatable beauty secret of all time.

She even talked about using some unconventional makeup growing up because they were too poor to afford real stuff.

And considering how incredible she always looked, maybe we should all be listening.

Dolly Parton Had a Serious Sweet Tooth

This is where Parton really becomes one of us.

If you’re at Dollywood and wondering what Dolly herself liked to eat, there’s a pretty good chance she was going for something sweet.

One of her favorite treats at the park is funnel cake. That’s right, Parton, one of the most glamorous women on the planet, has a favorite amusement-park food.

Dolly Parton Was a Superstar, But She Never Lost the Regular Person in Her

That’s really what makes Parton just like you and I. She never seemed to forget what it was like to be the person standing in line, helping a friend, grabbing something from the drugstore or treating herself to a funnel cake.

She was Dolly Parton. But she was also just Dolly. And maybe that’s why so many people felt like they knew her.