Dolly Parton’s Family Hated The Way She Looked Before Becoming A Hollywood Legend

Dolly Parton’s unqiue style became one of her calling cards but her family hated the way she looked early in her life.

Highlights

Dolly Parton’s family did not approve of the way she dressed and tried to get her to change.
Parton’s fashion choices were judged by both the media and her family, but she stayed true to herself.
Despite her family’s disapproval of her clothes, Parton had a deep love for her grandpa and was extremely close with her parents.

When Dolly Parton’s career began, she was known as a country music star. However, that has changed over time as Parton became so universally respected that she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Parton has also notably become very rich thanks to everything she has accomplished.

Before any of that, however, Parton was an unknown singer from a huge family. In an ideal world, the members of Parton’s family would always have supported who she is. The reality of the situation is that Parton’s family hated the way she looked as she was trying to launch her career.

Dolly Parton’s Family Tried To Change The Way She Looked

Of course, Dolly Parton has written and recorded a slew of songs that mean the world to her fans. No matter how impressive that is, however, it can still be argued that the most incredible thing about Parton is who she is offstage. With that in mind, it is sad that her family did not approve of how she expressed herself.

Seemingly born with an innate vision for herself, one of the most interesting aspects of Parton’s career is her fashion sense. After all, Parton spent years getting blowback about her clothes from people who were ignorant about how smart she is.

For the most part, it has been people in the media who’ve judged Parton’s clothes in the past. However, it turns out that Parton’s family also used to hate the way she dressed, and they went to extremes in an attempt to get her to change.

In 2023, Parton was interviewed by Howard Stern for his radio show. At one point in the resulting conversation, Stern and Parton had an in-depth conversation about people judging the way she dresses. Amazingly enough, Parton admitted to Stern that she was even struck by members of her family, partially because of her fashion choices.

Where did Dolly Parton grow up according to Biography?

Born on January 19, 1946
Born in Locust Ridge, Tennessee
Has described her family as “dirt poor”

At one point in their interview, Stern asked Parton if she had to deal with the casting couch early in her career. In response, Parton stated that she was never physical with anyone for that reason. However, Parton went on to own that she knew her fashion choices would affect powerful men in the entertainment industry.

“I was pretty sharp too. I was pretty clever and knowing the nature of men and understanding that. If I was going to dress like I dressed and look like I looked, I would have been disappointed if somebody hadn’t noticed me or, you know, have paid attention to me.”

In response to Parton’s comments, Stern explained what about her fashion choices interests him.

“The whole Dolly look, the whole persona, I find fascinating. You saw the town, whatever they called it back then, the town tr**p or something and you said to yourself, ‘Wow. That’s an outrageous look. I’m going to dress like that. And your grandpa, did he hit you or something because of the way you were dressing?”

After Parton laughed out loud at Stern’s question, she went on to explain how much her family hated the way she dressed.

“Well, my grandpa was just always preaching to me. You know, looking like, he would just call me Jezebel and which. I love my grandpa. He was great but he’d always say, ‘Don’t you want to go to heaven?’ And my famous line is that I would say. I would get smacked around just for sassing, you know. I’d say something like, ‘Yeah, I want to go to heaven but do I have to look like hell when I get there or to get there?’ And then you got to get your, you know, backhanded or something”

Based on Parton’s comments to Stern, it seems clear that she deeply loves her grandpa whether he disapproved of her clothes or not. Unfortunately for Parton, however, it wasn’t just her grandpa who was angry about her clothes as she explained to Stern.

“I was pretty outgoing and I just knew how I was going to look. That daddy couldn’t whip it out of me, mamma couldn’t talk it out of me, and grandpa couldn’t preach it out of me. I was going to look the way I looked and I still do because that is how I felt.”

Was Dolly Parton Close With Her Parents?

Based on today’s standards, Dolly Parton’s description of how her family reacted to her fashion is shocking. With that in mind, it would make sense if some people assumed that Parton wasn’t close with her parents.

No matter what people may assume, Parton actually was extremely close with her parents before their passings. A perfect example of that is the fact that Parton has taken great pride in buying gifts for her parents. In 2015, Parton discussed the cars she gifted to her parents once her music career took off.

Who were Dolly Parton’s parents according to People?

Robert Lee Parton Sr. and Avie Lee Parton
Married in 1939
Had 12 children
One of their children passed away at four days old
Dolly Parton’s song “Coat of Many Colors” was inspired by her mom
Took pride in Dolly Parton’s career

First off, Parton spoke about the truck she got for her father.

“It was always my wish to do something great for my family. I loved my daddy and my mama. My daddy always drove a truck. I bought my daddy a big blue truck, and he was always so proud of that. He never would trade it in. He kept it. The truck is still very much in the family today. Daddy’s gone now, but I still have the truck. It’s on some of the property that I bought that daddy used to own,”

Parton then went on to describe the series of cars she got for her mom since she was willing to trade them in.

“That same year, I bought my mama a Cadillac. Of course, I traded hers in every few years, and she was so proud of that. The last one was a gold Cadillac. That went back to me when Mama passed on. I wouldn’t take nothing for it. My husband drives it a lot. Because it was Mama’s car, and I still drive it some, I call it the ‘Dolly-Mama.’ Everybody knows not to mess with the Dolly-Mama, because that was such a precious thing. I was always proud that I could do for my family when I started making some money.”