Dolly Parton, whose death was announced on August 25, 2026 after the “Queen of Country” suffered a series of health setbacks that year, was a woman of so, so, so many talents. She was funny, she was incredibly smart, she was a wildly generous philanthropist — through her Dollywood Foundation, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provided books to 120 million children as of 2026 — and she was one of the greatest songwriters to ever live. She also, somehow, found time to become an accomplished actress. Frankly, it’s easy to imagine that Parton simply had more hours in the day than the average persob. How else do you explain the legend that Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene” in the same day?!
When it comes to Parton’s on-screen performances, the singer-songwriter and heroine of children’s literacy appeared in twelve feature films, not all of which were created equal (the Sylvester Stallone film “Rhinestone” that features Parton will not appear on this list, for example). Parton was also imitated but never truly matched — in a particularly funny bit on the canceled-too-soon comedy “Girls5Eva,” Tina Fey “plays” Dolly Parton as Sara Bareilles’ songwriter Dawn experiences hunger-induced hallucinations while trying to write a hit. All in all, she fully managed to make her mark as an actress and Hollywood figure.
Parton received an honorary Academy Award — specifically, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award — in 2025 and was nominated twice for best original song (for the movies “9 to 5” and “Transamerica”), and she earned five Emmy nominations for variety and musical specials. So which of her projects should you revisit in the wake of her passing? Here are Dolly Parton’s five best movies and TV shows, ranked … and we’re only including narrative work and not variety specials, which made up the bulk of Parton’s time on-screen.
5. Hannah Montana
You might not know about the link between Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus, the Disney Channel wunderkind who became a massive pop star after leading the series “Hannah Montana” … but Parton was Cyrus’s godmother. Not only that, but in 2024 (via People Magazine), Parton learned that she and Cyrus were seventh cousins once removed thanks to a distant shared lineage, absolutely delighting her. “Is that true? That’s amazing!” Parton said, before riffing: “Well, we’re so close, Miley and I. I would’ve thought we would’ve been at least third cousins, 10 times removed.”
That’s why it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Parton appeared across several episodes of “Hannah Montana” — the series where Cyrus plays Miley Stewart, an unassuming teenage girl who moonlights as the titular pop star Hannah Montana — as Miley’s “Aunt Dolly,” letting Parton reunite with her old friend Billy Ray Cyrus (Miley’s real-life and on-screen dad). Parton’s influence on “Hannah Montana” didn’t end after her final turn as Aunt Dolly in 2010, though.
Years after Parton’s appearance on “Hannah Montana,” Cyrus revealed, in 2025, that she used one of Parton’s funniest show business tricks to get a 20th anniversary special up and running for the show. “I learned this terrible habit — but I actually think it was good advice — from Dolly,” Cyrus told Variety. ”She told me that if you want something to happen, promote it before it exists. Then no one can say no. So I just started promoting a ‘Hannah Montana’ 20th-anniversary special that literally did not exist.” Unsurprisingly, this worked. Clearly, Parton gave the best advice of basically anybody in the entertainment industry.
4. The Simpsons
At this point, it’s a rite of passage for major stars to make appearances on “The Simpsons,” one of the longest-running shows in television history … and Dolly Parton was no exception. In the Season 10 episode “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday,” bumbling patriarch Homer (Dan Castellaneta) gets a book of coupons from his troublemaking son Bart (Nancy Cartwright) and attempts to use one to get his wheels rebalanced before just getting straight-up conned into buying all-new tires. While he waits, Homer meets a travel agent named Wally Kogan (the late, great Fred Willard), who ropes Homer into a scheme where, if they manage to fill a charter bus, they’ll get to go to the Super Bowl.
Homer and Bart board the bus with Wally, but when they get to the stadium, they realize that Wally’s tickets are fake … and end up in a cell underneath the massive structure. So how do they get out of this pickle? Parton, of course! Lending her voice to the show and playing herself, Parton is the guardian angel who breaks Homer, Bart, and their other Springfield cohorts out of their jail cell simply because she’s friends with Wally. In an episode that includes voice cameos from other stars like Troy Aikman, John Madden, and, inexplicably, Rupert Murdoch, it’s Parton who manages to stand out … and she gets to be the hero to boot.
3. Steel Magnolias
The cast list of “Steel Magnolias” is, and we mean this in the best way, insane. Julia Roberts, Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Daryl Hannah, and Shirley Maclaine lead the cast of this film, adapted by Robert Harling from his stage play of the same name and directed by Herbert Ross — and, of course, Dolly Parton is on hand in her fourth feature film appearance. (Her debut is elsewhere on this list.) “Steel Magnolias” concerns a group of women related or united by friendship, marriage, or blood living in Chinquapin Parish in the northwest part of Louisiana, who all come together and grapple with the loss of one of their own. (Spoilers for a pretty old movie that came out in 1989, but Roberts’ Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie, daughter of Fields’ M’Lynn, dies after pregnancy puts so much stress on her body that her kidneys shut down due to the effects of her type 1 diabetes.)
Parton plays one of the lead roles as Truvy Jones, a beautician in the small hamlet who’s married to Spud Jones (playwright Sam Shepard) and has one son, the troublemaking Louie (Tom Hodges) … and who takes in newcomer Annelle Dupuy (Hannah), who works as an apprentice beautician. Parton is, of course, luminous as Truvy, who’s always on hand to lend her support and love to people like M’Lynn during times of need. If you’re making your way through Parton’s filmography, you absolutely cannot miss this one.
2. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Adapted from the 1978 musical written by Larry L. King, Peter Masterson, and Carol Hall, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” is one of Dolly Parton’s most risqué and hysterical projects — the sight of her in elaborate lingerie is truly something — and it’s also one of her best. Parton leads the film as Miss Mona Stangley, a madam who runs a brothel called the “Chicken Ranch” despite the fact that sex work is illegal … and that’s, in large part, thanks to Mona’s longtime romantic relationship with the sheriff of the nearby town of Gilbert, Ed Earl Dodd (Burt Reynolds). Constantly trying to evade the attention of Ed’s deputy Fred Wilkins (Jim Nabor), Mona and Ed enjoy fruitful a romantic and professional life together, and Mona is well-liked by everybody in town because, like Parton herself, she’s extraordinarily charitable, kind, and giving.
This is all thrown into disarray when TV personality Melvin P. Thorpe (Dom DeLuise) reveals that he intends to reveal the true nature of the Chicken Ranch to the world, using the reveal that “Texas has a whorehouse in it” during a broadcast on his program in Houston. Despite Ed’s best efforts, the reputation of the Chicken Ranch is sullied, much to Mona’s dismay … and if you sit down and watch “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” you’ll see how strong and self-sufficient Mona really is. Plus, as a bonus? Parton’s hit song “I Will Always Love You” first appeared in this movie — the one Whitney Houston turned into a smash hit when she covered it for “The Bodyguard” — so it’s really a big part of Parton history.
1. 9 to 5
You simply cannot rank anything but “9 to 5” as Dolly Parton’s best on-screen project. Directed by Colin Higgins, who co-wrote the screenplay with Patricia Resnick, “9 to 5” made Parton into a real movie star as Doralee Rhodes, the sweet, extremely shrewd, and secretly gun-toting secretary to overtly evil businessman Franklin Hart (Dabney Colman), who’s the vice president of Consolidated Companies. After recently divorcée Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda) joins Doralee as a new secretary at the firm, they befriend Violet Newstead (Lily Tomlin), a widow with an acid tongue who’s worked at the company for years and keeps getting passed over for promotions in favor of men … even though she once trained Franklin to work his job. After Hart is disgusting to all three of them, they start fantasizing about ways in which they could kill him, only for Violet to arrive at work the next morning and accidentally spike Franklin’s coffee with rat poison. (It actually is an accident; the poison box looks identical to a box of sweetener.)
From that point on, “9 to 5” turns into a madcap comedy as the three women try to cover up their wrongdoings … and discover that Franklin certainly isn’t innocent either. Together, Doralee, Judy, and Violet use their considerable intelligence and gut instincts to improve Consolidated Companies, making it into such a successful venture that its president Mr. Hinkle (Henry Jones) and board chairman Russell Tinsworthy (Sterling Hayden) both show up to learn why everything has become so much better so quickly. “9 to 5” is a stunning ode to female empowerment with three of Hollywood’s most charismatic performers at the helm — and a theme song that, of course, Parton wrote and which got nominated for an Oscar — and it’s Parton’s best-ever movie.
