We all know Dolly Parton best for her recognizable and iconic image, full of bouncy blonde wigs and glam. But did you know she once considered throwing it all away? Literally. It was early on in Dolly’s career when she created a ‘character’ to play in public settings – it was a much “larger than life” kind of Dolly. But she grew tired of it at some points and she still feels that way today at times.
“I might throw the wigs away tomorrow, next month, next year,” she admits. “Maybe never. If I feel the need to, I might do something drastic when I’m ready to shock the people again. . . . It’s unfair to keep a person bound to an image.”
Dolly Parton thought about throwing her wigs away and abandoning her image altogether
Smile, it increases your face value 😊 pic.twitter.com/1dX1NOUcGP
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) May 1, 2020
She continues, “It’s time to look inside the hour-and-a-half-glass figure and the hair, to look at the music and the talent. I deliberately chose this appearance so that the image could sell the talent, and the talent would sell the image. But the talent was always more important and should take over now.”
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Despite anything, Dolly continues to embrace her image and her larger-than-life persona. She actually attributes part of her long-term success to the character that she plays so well. “A character never grows old,” she tells biographer Alanna Nash. “A character lives forever, just like Mae West, like Zsa Zsa Gabor. Liberace. I guess I am a character only because I’m just totally what I am. I’m not afraid to be that and say what I want to, and just do what I want to do.”
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