Dolly Parton’s PEOPLE Covers Had the Most Amazing Quotes: ‘I Like to Pee Off the Porch Every Now and Then!’

Alex ApatoffThu, August 27, 2026 at 10:30 PM UTC

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Credit: Jim Wright

Dolly Parton has always been unapologetically herself, whether she’s on stage, on screen or on the cover of PEOPLE magazine.

The legendary country superstar, who died Aug. 25, 2026, at 80, spoke to PEOPLE with her signature humor, candor and wit over the course of four decades, from her first cover in 1977 profiling her move from Nashville to Hollywood in which she discussed her ambitions, to her final interview with the magazine for a Nov. 2025 cover story in which she discussed her legacy. (And, because she was Dolly Parton, she still had plenty of ambition left.)

From admitting to picturing her costars during sex with husband Carl Dean (with a particularly hilarious punchline) to what she hoped to tell God when she met him at the pearly gates, look back at all of Dolly Parton’s PEOPLE covers and celebrate the brilliant queen of the one-liner.

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‘Hello, Dolly Parton’

An April 1977 cover profiled the star as she prepared to expand her empire beyond Nashville and into Hollywood. “I want people to know there is a lot more to me—good or bad—than they’ve seen so far. All I’m askin’ is a chance to prove it. I needed to reorganize to try to make those dreams come true,” she told PEOPLE.

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‘Dolly Parton’

In Jan. 1981, Parton shared the cover with her costars from the smash hit 9 to 5, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, and was looking ahead to filming The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with Burt Reynolds. But she already knew her limits onscreen.

“When I say love scenes, I’m talkin’ about holding, hugging, kissing and things that make sense,” she told PEOPLE. “I could never do a nude scene. I’m not selling sex. The magic of the whole thing is that I am one way and look another ... I feel I have more to show than my looks. If I gain 20 pounds or lose them, so what? The important thing is that I’m happy within myself.”

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‘Dolly’

Parton’s Aug. 1982 cover story around the time of the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas premiere addressed the movie’s bad press and difficult set conditions, but all with Parton’s signature sense of humor. And as for rumors that she and costar Burt Reynolds had chemistry? She said that her husband Carl Dean got a kick out of all the rumors.

“He’s always saying, ‘Well, whose baby are you havin’ this week?’ To him it’s all a joke. There ain’t a man in this world could ever live up to my husband. That’s one of the things that keeps me from going too far.”

She also joked that any chemistry that she did have with Reynolds only made her marriage stronger. “Every now and then when I’m with my husband I’ll think, ‘Yeah, I’ll make love with Burt tonight’—as long as it ain’t Burt. My old man don’t know about it, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. I’m sure he makes love to many people, while I’m the one doin’ all the work!”

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‘Inside Country Music’

Parton may have gone Hollywood, but she was still the main story when PEOPLE looked “inside country music” in May 1984. No interview, but PEOPLE’s music critic noted that “Coat of Many Colors” was the runner-up for the best country song of the year — and it did end up being one of her all-time classics.

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‘Rhinestone’s Dolly’

Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone shared the cover of this July 1984 issue to promote what would end up being a fairly notable flop. Though their very different personalities made working on the film a challenge, Stallone talked about his costar with reverence: “If she were flat-chested, goofy and had brunette hair, she would still be who she is ... She is no one to be trifled with.”

And Parton seconded that, saying she was going to be true to herself until the end.

“I really get a kick out of thinking what I’m going to be like when I’m old. I will be such a character,” she told PEOPLE, adding that she already had plans for the pearly gates: “The first thing, if there is a heaven or hell outside of this, the first thing I’m gonna ask God, if there is one, I’m gonna go right up to Him and I’m gonna say, ‘I just want to know what you had in mind when you invented Dolly Parton. Do you think that was easy? How could you let a person run around like that? Why did you let me make such a fool of myself all of those years. But I did enjoy it.’ “

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‘Dolly Parton’

In May 1986, PEOPLE caught up with the superstar as she prepared to open Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and though they conducted the interview at a high-end French restaurant, Parton shared that she still kept some of her country quirks, like drinking out of tin cans.

“When we was kids, we would always drink out of one. It seems to keep things colder. Even at my beautiful homes, I’m always drinking out of a tin can, which drives my secretary nuts. I’m saving coffee cans to drink out of and she’s throwing them out and it makes me so mad.” Another one of note? “I still like to pee off the porch every now and then. There’s nothing like peeing on those snobs in Beverly Hills.”

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‘Dolly’s Private World’

In Dec. 2018, PEOPLE spoke to Dolly Parton about her work on the film Dumplin’ — and so much more, including her vow renewal ceremony with Dean, not having children, and more. And of course, at 72, the star showed absolutely no signs of slowing down.

“Sleep’s no big deal to me. I just do that ‘cause it’s necessary. The older you get, the less you need. I don’t want to miss anything,” she said, adding later, “I never think about retiring. I just hope I fall dead in the middle of a song, hopefully one I wrote, right onstage ... I figure I’ll sleep when I’m dead. At this rate I will be soon!”

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‘Dolly Parton: “Believe in Something Bigger Than Yourself”’

For the People of the Year issue in 2021, Parton was profiled for one of her many philanthropic endeavors: Donating $1M towards research that would eventually lead to the Moderna Covid vaccine. When asked how she stayed positive in a difficult time, she said, “You’ve got to find your own hope. I try to latch on to anything good I see on television, which ain’t much. I am touched when I watch the good things people do. Like the people who are working on COVID—the doctors and nurses and everyone trying to make a difference, sacrificing their own bodies and souls and their own children and families. So I try to look and see the goodness that really is still out there. I just don’t know why we don’t put a little more fertilizer and water on that part. Make the good grow.”

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‘Dolly Parton: “I Ain’t Got Time to Get Old!” ‘

Credit: Jim Wright

For her last sit-down interview before her death, Parton spoke to PEOPLE for a Nov. 2025 cover story, reflecting on her legacy but saying she still had so much left to do.

“I’m at that point in my life where I just want to be able to do good things that can be carried on. I’m proud of my legacy so far, and I hope to just continue to do things that might be of use to other people,” she said. “There is a celebration in the fact that I have done so much in that time and that I’m still doing it. I don’t know what I’m going to be doing tomorrow. Whatever comes, I’ll give it my best.”

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‘Dolly at 75!’

In January 2021, PEOPLE released a special-edition look at her empire.

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‘Dolly at 80!’

Credit: Jim Wright

To celebrate the icon’s milestone birthday in January 2026, PEOPLE released a special edition dedicated to her accomplishments, history and everything that made her so special, with excerpts from her previous interview that fall.

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‘America at 250: A Celebration of American Treasures Dolly Parton, Team U.S.A. and More’

Americans can all agree on one thing: Dolly Parton deserved the title of “American Treaure” on our special edition America 250 issue.

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‘Dolly Parton’

Credit: Jack Manning/The New York Times/Redux; Jim Wright

PEOPLE honored the Dolly Parton’s life with two covers that epitomized the joy she felt doing what she felt she was put on this earth to do. “There were times I was nervous and scared, but I always believed I was going to make it, always believed I would have success and be a star,” she told PEOPLE in 2003. “I would have sung in a honky-tonk if I’d had to wait tables on the side. I am a showgirl.”

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