In the years since Dolly Parton left her hometown, she has recorded albums, starred in films, hosted television shows, and won countless awards. The girl who left Sevierville, Tennessee, after graduating from high school grew into a bona fide superstar. Years into her career, Parton had a chance to play the version of herself who never left home in a film.

Dolly Parton said she played her hometown self in one movie

In 1989, Parton appeared in the film Steel Magnolias as salon owner Truvy Jones. Parton liked that Truvy wasn’t too different from herself.

“She’s a pretty flamboyant lady and so am I,” she said, per the book Smart Blonde by Stephen Miller. “She has a great sense of humour, a big heart and a big mouth … and how different is that from me, specially the big mouth?”

In many ways, Parton felt that if she’d stayed in her hometown, she probably would have been just like Truvy. She felt as though she was playing an alternate-reality version of herself. 

“You’ll see the Dolly I would have been had I stayed at home,” she said. “She has a good attitude, full of jokes, full of heart, and tries to keep the peace with everybody.”

She said the director of ‘Steel Magnolias’ was hard on her

While Parton didn’t have to stretch herself too far to embody Truvy, director Herbert Ross wanted to see more from her. 

“He didn’t particularly like me or Julia Roberts at the start, and was very hard on us,” Parton wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “Julia Roberts was not the big star she is now, and I think Herbert Ross resented having to use her. He told me I couldn’t act. This was not news to me, and I told him so.”

Parton wouldn’t put up with much criticism.

“Well hell, I know I can’t act,” she told the director. “It’s your job to teach me how. You hired me to make money for you.”

Parton’s co-star, Sally Field, recalled feeling shocked when Ross told Parton to take acting lessons.

“You don’t say that to Dolly Parton!” Field told Us Weekly. “Dolly Parton is absolutely the funniest, wittiest and filthiest, and she will cut you to ribbons.”

Dolly Parton’s hometown is proud of her

Though Parton hasn’t lived in her hometown for many years, they still take an immense amount of pride in her. Sevierville has a statue of Parton outside the courthouse and there are numerous murals celebrating her throughout the city. One depicts butterfly wings in honor of her song “Love is Like a Butterfly,” and another shows her at one of her favorite restaurants as a child.