Julia Roberts Recalls Dolly Parton's On-Set Advice Amid Tributes
Country music icon Dolly Parton died on August 25, 2026, at age 80. Her family said she passed surrounded by loved ones after a "brief battle with cancer." In the wake of the news, a late-1980s TV interview clip has resurfaced online: on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Julia Roberts recalled working with Parton on the 1989 film Steel Magnolias, describing how Parton never complained despite brutal heat on set. As compiled by NME, Roberts said the exchange was something she "never forgotten."
The conversation on the Steel Magnolias set
The clip was recorded when Roberts, Parton, and co-star Shirley MacLaine appeared together to promote the film. Steel Magnolias earned Roberts her first Oscar nomination.
Roberts described a shoot where the entire cast and crew were packing ice on their wrists and constantly calling for water — except Parton, who wore a wig and wool costume without a word of complaint. Roberts said she eventually pushed Parton to admit she was at least a little hot.
Roberts recounted Parton's reply, delivered while sitting on a porch: as a kid she wanted to be famous and wanted money, and now she had both, so she wasn't going to complain about it. Roberts said hearing that made her decide she would "be quiet for the rest of that day," and that she still thinks of that porch conversation whenever she feels like complaining or grumbling.
Health and the canceled Vegas residency
Last week, Parton told fans about her health, saying she had put off her own medical issues while caring for her husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, who died last year. Her planned Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace was first postponed in October 2025, then officially canceled this past May due to health reasons.
Tributes from the music world
- Jack White: performed a live cover of "Jolene"
- The King's Guard: played "9 To 5" at Buckingham Palace
- Orville Peck: covered "I Will Always Love You"
- Harry Styles: played "I Will Always Love You" over the venue's sound system before the first of his 30 Madison Square Garden residency shows
Artists who posted written tributes include Elton John, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Mick Jagger, Debbie Harry, Eminem, and Parton's goddaughter Miley Cyrus. Streaming of Parton's signature songs surged more than 2000% following the news.
NME's tribute also noted Parton's 2014 Glastonbury performance, and recalled her introduction of the 1971 country hit "Coat Of Many Colors," in which she spoke about the coat her mother sewed by hand.