Celebrate Dolly Parton’s 71st Birthday by Checking Out Her 10 Best Film Roles!

Reality TV

Jan 19, 2017 5:00 pm·

By Samantha Faragalli

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Happy 71st Birthday, Dolly Parton!

To celebrate the iconic star's special day, click through the gallery below to see her best film roles over the years!

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10. Blue Valley Songbird (1999)

In this made-for-television movie, Dolly starred as a country singer who struggles to escape from her controlling manager and boyfriend, as well as her troubled past.

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9. Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005)

The iconic country singer played herself in a brief cameo in this comedy — which was the sequel to 2000's Miss Congeniality — starring Osca winner Sandra Bullock!

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8. Unlikely Angel (1996)

This TV movie featured Dolly as a deceased country star who attempts to return to Earth from Heaven by reuniting a grieving, suburban family — who are mourning the sudden loss of their matriarch — by midnight on Christmas Eve.

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7. Wild Texas Wind (1991)

The made-for-TV drama starred Dolly alongside Gary Busey and Ray Benson as a singer whose rise to fame is interrupted by a mysterious murder.

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6. Joyful Noise (2012)

In Joyful Noise, Dolly played a widow who attempts to revive a gospel choir after the untimely death her husband, who served as the group's musical director. The movie also stars Queen Latifah!

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5. Straight Talk (1992)

Dolly portrayed Shirlee Kenyon, a down-home country girl who (through a series of mistakes) is hired as a radio talk show host, in this cute comedy!

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dolly-parton-best-little-whorehouse-texas

4. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)

In this film — for which Dolly received a Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Golden Globe nomination! — the singer appeared alongside actor Burt Reynolds as "Miss Mona," a woman who runs a brothel called the "Chicken Ranch."

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3. A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986)

Dolly again portrayed a country singer in this fantasy television film about a woman who plans a trip to a friend's cabin in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains to escape her stressful career over Christmas.

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2. Steel Magnolias (1989)

In this classic film, Dolly played Truvy Jones, a southern beautician who hires Annelle Dupuy (Daryl Hannah) to work in her home-based beauty salon. The tear-jerking movie also starred Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, and Olympia Dukakis.

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1. 9 to 5 (1980)

This comedy — which starred Dolly, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin — told the story of three working women living out their fantasies of getting even with their company's sexist boss!