Dolly Parton Gave Fans A Rare Glimpse At Her Natural Hair

Would Dolly really look like herself without her iconic hairdo? It goes hand-in-hand with her glittery outfits and tops off her legendary style. The wig seems to stem back to the early days when the Nashville legend adopted her attention-grabbing look. But was there an era before she ever donned the wig?

Dolly credits her entire image to someone her family used to call the town “tramp.” “I thought she was the most beautiful thing because she had all this makeup, hair, tight clothes, and everything I wanted,” Dolly once admitted to Jimmy Fallon. And this obviously included the big, blonde hairdo!

Dolly is a proud supporter of plastic surgery, having gone under the knife many times herself. And unlike a lot of stars, she’s never been afraid to admit it. “I’m not a natural beauty,” the singer told CBS Sunday Morning in 2019. “But I can enhance it. Whatever it takes, I do. I try to make the most of everything.” Wearing a wig is clearly one of those ways.

When it comes to these procedures, Dolly’s go-to guy is Dr. John Grossman. And he’s even opened up about what she’s had done in the past. In 2003, for instance, he told People magazine, “She has a generous bosom, which I augmented some years ago. She’s had her face rejuvenated on a number of occasions, [but] not a full face-lift.” But before all this, Dolly had a much more natural look — her hair being no exception.

Dolly was obviously still experimenting with her sense of style when she first made a name for herself. In her first ever appearance, where she sang alongside Porter Wagoner, you can see that her outfit was still fairly understated. And that’s made all the more obvious by her duet partner’s tailor-made Nudie suit.

At the beginning of the 1970s, though, Dolly started to dress a little more rock ’n’ roll. In this black-and-white snap, the country singer can be seen joyfully strumming her guitar. And she’s dressed in a barroom-friendly outfit made entirely of denim. Effortlessly cool, if you ask us — especially with those beautiful, fake cascading locks.

Dolly, it seems, had the perfect outfit for every instrument. When she appeared at the U.K. Country Music Festival in 1976, the star delighted the crowd with her banjo skills. But instead of denim, Dolly wore a more glamorous bejazzled pink dress complete with giant hoop earrings. And, of course, there’s that gorgeous big wig again!

While Dolly largely ignored the disco craze that swept the 1970s on a musical level, that didn’t mean she couldn’t embrace its fashions. Here, the star looks set to hit the dancefloors of Studio 54 in a sparkling polka-dotted jumpsuit, which she styled with a pair of chunky heels.

Funnily enough, Dolly’s unique sense of style seemed to fit in with any fashion scene — as this snap from 1977 confirms. Here, the country star is embracing the hippie look with a denim shirt and a matching blouse and headscarf combo. This look is finished off by Dolly’s best accessory: her radiating smile! But there’s another outfit from that year that fans will always remember...

Yep, commiserations to anyone who tried to upstage Dolly at the 19th Annual Grammys in 1977. The country singer stole the show at the music industry’s biggest night. With her massive blonde hair and frilly, bright-pink lace outfit, this was Dolly at her most showbiz. We’re in love.

Even though Dolly’s hairdos varied in length, they rarely lacked in volume — doing a good job at hiding her natural look. Here, she sports a full-bodied bob for her role in 1980’s 9 to 5. Dolly starred as Doralee alongside Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in the workplace comedy classic. And it looks like she was able to bring her own sense of style to the role.

Just four years later, Dolly went full-on country again when she appeared in Rhinestone. The double threat plays a Nashville star who needs to transform Sylvester Stallone’s unpleasant taxi driver into a vocalist to win a wager. And her convincing attire included this bejazzled rodeo-friendly outfit complete with a cowboy hat. As you would expect, Dolly looked very different when she rocked up at the film’s premiere.

The “Coat of Many Colors” singer arrived with Stallone wearing a glamorous high-slit white gown. And the giant bouffant she sported wouldn’t have been able to fit under a cowboy hat, that’s for sure!

We know what you’re thinking: how exactly did Dolly’s hair stay so full and bouncy? Well, you mustn’t forget that in the 1980s, hairspray ruled the world. And after hairspray came shoulder pads — another style move Dolly embraced. In this photo taken from Walt Disney Television Studios, the singer looks primed to step straight onto the set of Dallas.

But everything Dolly had ever worn looked relatively understated compared to this dazzling dress she styled in 1989. The country star certainly grabbed all the attention when she hit the red carpet at Manhattan’s Ziegfeld Theatre. Here, Dolly’s outfit proves that sometimes, diamonds really are a girl’s best friend.

Later that same year, Dolly showed yet again that she can be a fashion chameleon. While performing on Saturday Night Live, the Nashville icon sported the rock chick look with her studded head-to-toe leather outfit. It was an ensemble that suggested she’d been taking tips from another music legend: Cher.

Dolly’s hairdo is obviously a huge part of her superstar look, which she seems to be able to pull off just about anywhere. Even on one of her theme park’s attractions! During the 1993 grand opening of her beloved Dollywood in the Tennessee city of Pigeon Forge, the Grammy winner hopped into a big wheel cart. And her ruby-red outfit complete with dalmatian-print cuffs no doubt thrilled some fans just as much as the rides. But Dolly can tone it down when she needs to...

At the turn of the century, Dolly addressed Washington’s National Press Club about her library initiative to donate 150,000 books to the nation’s kids. The philanthropist sported a pair of glasses for the occasion. And she also brightened up the place with a bedazzled outfit that was entirely lime green. For this appearance, she’d fashioned her wig into a half up-do.

And as the star continued to promote her literary initiative, she always looked fabulous. When visiting the Magna Science and Adventure Park in South Yorkshire in the U.K, she lit up the stage with a spangly emerald-green dress and possibly one of her wildest bouffants to date. By now you’re probably starting to see how rare it is to see Dolly without her big hairdo — no matter the occasion.

Then, in 2014 Dolly was given the honor of performing in the Legends slot at one of the world’s biggest music festivals, Glastonbury. And she sure dressed for the event. That’s right: the country singer belted out her hits in front of the crowd sporting nothing other than a rhinestone-clad jumpsuit. One word: iconic.

And Dolly remains just as bold with her fashion choices now that she’s in her 70s. In 2019 she joined goddaughter Miley Cyrus on stage at the Staples Center for a performance at the Grammy Awards. And the star made sure all eyes were on her with a lacy white gown embroidered with daisies and diamonds. Plus, of course, the whole look was completed with her signature giant blonde wig.

While Dolly is clearly very experimental with her clothing choices, there’s one part of her style that’s stayed fairly constant: her hairdo. But have you ever wondered what she looks like without her wig on? Well, in her 2020 book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, the star allowed fans to see a pic taken in the recording studio when she was just 19. And it’s one of the few times that Dolly has shown off her natural locks.

You may be surprised to see that her natural hair is still pretty voluminous. It’s why Dolly clarifies in the picture’s caption, “In case you’re wondering, yes, that’s my real hair.” The singer posted the same black and white image on her Instagram account, too.

The country star captioned the pic, “Where the magic happens.” And the response from fans was overwhelming. “Dolly is beautiful just the way she is,” said one commenter. And another remarked, “Natural beauty is so much better.” Do you agree?

“I have wanted to see Dolly’s real hair my entire life,” said one particularly enthusiastic follower. “She is one of the most beautiful people, inside and out, that I have ever seen… I just love Dolly Parton.” Another remarked, “This is my favorite Dolly picture. It shows all of her beauty stripped down to the basics.”

Yet not everyone was convinced that Dolly was telling the truth about the pic. In the comments section underneath an article on the Mirror, one individual said, “Everybody loves Dolly simply because behind all the false stuff, a true talented people loving giant heart beats [sic]. But the real hair story is an absolute lie.” What’s clearly not a lie, though, is Dolly’s love for big hair.

But why is Dolly so obsessed with volume? Interestingly, the country sensation revealed in her 2020 book that she was inspired by the Frederick’s of Hollywood lingerie chain catalogs she saw as a teen. Dolly said, “I wanted to feel like the way I thought all the movie stars in Hollywood did.”

Dolly goes on to explain how she honed her style during her early appearances on The Porter Wagoner Show. She wrote, “I always wore my hair all teased up. Whenever that style started, I was the first to get my hair all poofy.”

Initially, Dolly tried to get the big-haired look the natural way. But once success started to come her way, the “I Will Always Love You” hitmaker decided to make things a little easier for herself. Out went the time-consuming hair products, and in came an array of ready-made beehives.

“As soon as I could buy those hairpieces and wigs, I wanted them,” Dolly explains in Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, “For one thing, they were so handy. Plus, my hair would never do exactly what I wanted it to do. So the wigs became kind of my trademark.”

But not everyone approved of Dolly’s fondness for super-sized hair. Chet Atkins, the singer’s mentor and fellow country star, once told his protégée that she would be better off ditching her now-trademark locks. The Nashville legend believed that Dolly wouldn’t be taken seriously if she didn’t. As you’d expect, his comments didn’t go down too well.

In a 2019 interview with Elle, Dolly revealed exactly how she responded to her mentor. The star recalled telling Atkins, “You know what? I can’t separate the two. This is who I am.” Dolly then further explained, “I not only didn’t tone it down, I figured if my work was truly good enough, people would eventually recognize that.”

Dolly added that feeling comfortable in her image was key to her sense of wellbeing. She said, “If I was happy, I could make other people happy. That’s how I’ve always looked at it: that I look totally artificial, but I am totally real, as a writer, as a professional, as a human being. A rhinestone shines just as good as a diamond.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Dolly walks around her home donning a super-sized wig. In the same Elle interview, the multiple Grammy winner revealed that she’s a little more casual when she’s not in the spotlight. Dolly said, “I don’t always wear [wigs] in my daily life, but I always still pouf up my hair. I still like to have that flashy hair.”

“When I’m around home, I wear my little scrunchies, but I always put on some makeup and fix my own hair as cute as I can fix it,” Dolly said. “Wigs are just so handy. I’m so busy, and I have so many choices. I never have a bad hair day, and that’s a good thing.”

Although Parton has revealed what she looks like sans wig, don’t ever expect to see her sans makeup. “You never know if you’re going to wreck the bus, you never know if you’re going to be somewhere in a hotel and there’s going to be a fire,” she told The New York Times in 2019. “So I leave my makeup on at night and clean my face in the morning.”

And while fans are finally appeased by glimpsing what Dolly has going on under her wig, there's another facet of her trademark look that still leaves us with unanswered questions. There's a particular detail that's been present in every single one of her ensembles over the past few decades that eagle-eyed fans never miss ...

Long sleeves! Why is Dolly always sporting lengthy, enveloping sleeves? Though you may be able to catch sight of vintage photos of the songstress and author bearing short sleeves, it's been years since nearly anyone has seen her bare arms; and we're not the only ones who've noticed.

It's been a strange Hollywood mystery for some time now, and for years, fans have theorized about what the country darling could be hiding beneath her boundless sleeves. The likes of Jennifer Saunders and Roseanne Barr, however, have assisted in uncovering the secret.

In 2011, Roseanne spilled the beans about what lies under Dolly's trademark sleeves. She publicly told Craig Ferguson about her inside scoop on his talk show, even having admitted that she "shouldn’t even tell this."

“She showed me. She’s got all these awesome tattoos all over her body — no black or blue lines, all like pastel, gorgeous bows all over everything," Roseanne claimed. Jennifer Saunders, meanwhile, spoke of what she witnessed when she ran into Dolly at an LA restaurant.

The Absolutely Fabulous star said that Dolly simply opened her top, having offered up a portfolio of stunning tattoo work to Saunders, which covered her arms and chest. “They were the most beautiful angels, and beautiful butterflies, and baskets of flowers in pastel-colored tattoos," Saunders gushed on Channel 7’s Sunday Night. There was still no hard proof, though.

Apparently, Dolly asked for her body art to be kept a secret, but observant fans thought they spotted a butterfly tattoo through Dolly's somewhat-sheer blouse sleeve back in 2006 while she posed with her cherished 9 to 5 costars.

It was in 2012 when a red carpet photo of Dolly emerged with what seemed to be a bit of a rose-tinged tattoo peeking out from the center of her cleavage. When journalist Anderson Cooper pressed her about said photo, Dolly insisted that the photo was fake.

And when Cooper flat out asked her if she had any tattoos, Dolly said “I might. But I’m not going to show ’em ’til they catch me at it.” In more recent years, anyhow, she's been more relaxed and open about the whole tat ordeal.

Dolly Parton admitted in an interview with Larry King that she originally got her pastel ink to cover up some keloid scarring. "I have a tendency to scar easily, and I'm so fair-skinned that I stay purple right where I've had a scar," the country star explained.

In 2017, Dolly told Vanity Fair, “I don’t really like to make a big to-do of [the tattoos] because people make such a big deal over every little thing." She even defended herself when she spoke with Larry King, insisting she "wouldn't be a biker chick or anything!" Of course, this is far from Dolly's only run-in with controversy.

"If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one," the country legend once said. Obviously, taking your own path comes with a price. From the early days of her career to a head-turning 2020 interview with Oprah, Parton has dropped truth bombs that rubbed some people the wrong way.

When Dolly made her debut as a side act on the Porter Wagoner show, she had to overcome an audience that didn't like her style or her music. As time moved on, she paved a way for herself in spite of that, and always stuck to her guns.

Throughout her career, Dolly Parton has made it a point that she will not take political sides, stating "I have too many fans on both sides of the fence." When it came to the recent celebrity involvement in the 2020 election, Parton remained silent to some fans' delight and others' disappointment. Still, she wasn't silent about everything.

Being a feminist icon since her acting role in the film 9 To 5, Dolly has taken a much different approach to life and politics than her co-actors. With the pressure of a demographically mixed audience, she is very careful of what to say, but that doesn't mean she avoids controversy all the time.

Dolly's personal life isn't really publicized, and there isn't too much she often shares. Being as much of a business woman as she is an entertainer, she's well aware of what her words can do to her career. In spite of that, she does speak up where she feels she needs to.

Back in 2018, Dolly made the choice to rename her "Dixie Stampede Dinner Attraction" theater to "Dolly Parton's Stampede." For Dolly, it's important to not offend anyone, and she's become well aware of how hurtful the term "Dixie" was with its close ties to slavery.

In light of recent racial issues, Dolly stood by the Black Lives Matter movement in her own way. She's never attended marches, but she has said she supports the movement, saying in an interview with Billboard, "I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen." Her political views are generally quiet, but Dolly's been more vocal about her personal choices.

Along with her prolific career, the singer has aimed to make change in her own ways. It was a noble cause, though many wondered why Dolly took this step.

That's because, unlike many of her peers, Parton never had children. In an interview with Oprah on her Apple TV+ show The Oprah Conversation, Dolly Parton finally opened up. It was a candid recount on how and why she continued her life without a family, and how she believes God has everything to do with it.

In her interview with Oprah, she feels that not having children to raise and being with a man who's just as independent as she is, has been a key to success in her career. Though people with a more conservative viewpoint may criticize her for it, she also makes an argument that may turn heads.

Dolly Parton shares, "I believed that God didn't mean for me to have kids so everybody's kids could be mine...if I hadn't had the freedom to work, I wouldn't have done all the things I've done." In retrospect, the results have spoken for themselves.

For Dolly, work is something she loves. Whether it's work for herself or for the unacquainted children that she aims to support, she is always busy. It helps her to feel young again — along with all those plastic surgeries. Really, what she says is she felt a particular calling, both to music and to philanthropy.

Going the extra mile, Dolly started the Dollywood Foundation, which helps children achieve academic success through scholarships and donations. Since its start back in 1988, the foundation has financed more than 30 teens' education, brought millions of children reading material at no cost to them, and even reduced the school drop out rate in key areas.

In addition, Dolly has poured millions of her own revenue into a special project she calls "Imagination Library" which aims to help parents provide their children with free books regardless of their income. By 2003, Imagination Library had reached its one-millionth book donated.

Dolly has made such incredible strides for kids, and she has never put down anyone else's choice to have children. In fact, she acknowledges that, although she's had the freedom to go down that road, prioritizing her busy career has pushed her to make difficult sacrifices.

Later in the interview, Dolly admitted how she doesn't see family or friends often, let alone find any vacation time for herself. At the end of the day, Dolly Parton seems proud of the work she's accomplished, while on the surface ignoring any controversy coming her way.

When it comes to her choices, Dolly stands firm and resolute. No apologies given, but no trash talk thrown at others. This was how her life unfolded and she's happy with it. We don't see much of her personal life, but what she does share, she shares with honesty and care.

In today's age, it's becoming harder to avoid ticking some people off. Whether it's something complex like politics or a more personal like a woman's choices, every issue is touchy. Dolly Parton makes her choice to speak out or not, but she always keeps one thing in mind.

"I do believe we all have a right to be exactly who we are, and it is not my place to judge...God is the judge, not us. I just try to be myself. I try to let everybody else be themselves." Regardless of what some may think of her, Dolly will just keep on smiling.