From '9 to 5' to 'Steel Magnolias,' 5 Dolly Parton movies to revisit

Dolly Parton has died at age 80, her nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver, announced in an Instagram video on Tuesday. While most people associate the Queen of Country with hits like "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors" and "Islands in the Stream" — and will no doubt be streaming her music in the wake of her death — the icon's legacy extends into the world of film as well.

The blond, bubbly, rhinestone-loving Tennessee native appeared in numerous movies and provided music for many of them. The 1980 film 9 to 5 , which marked her acting debut, included her hit song of the same name and earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. But it was just the beginning of a memorable, albeit modest — she has about a dozen feature film credits, in addition to a slew of made-for-TV movies — acting career.

Eager to revisit Parton's filmography? Here's a refresher on her onscreen performances.

The 1980 comedy, directed by Colin Higgins, stars Parton alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as office workers who rebel against their sexist boss.

Parton wrote the song "9 to 5" while working on the film's set, after realizing that her long acrylic nails could mimic the sound of a typewriter . The track became one of the biggest hits of the decade and earned Parton her first Oscar nomination. (She would later be nominated again for Best Original Song for "Travelin' Thru," the theme song to the 2005 film Transamerica .)

The movie 9 to 5 later inspired a 1982 TV series that ran for five seasons, as well as a Broadway musical for which Parton wrote the music and lyrics. The film's feminist themes also created an enduring legacy, with a 2022 documentary, Still Working 9 to 5, exploring its impact on gender equity.

In a 2019 interview with the Los Angeles Times , Parton reflected on the film's message: "Just keep pushing, hoping for equal pay for equal work, getting the respect that we need. I'll always be about that."

How to watch: 9 to 5 is currently streaming on Philo and is available to rent or buy on Prime Video .

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)

Parton's second film was also a commercial success, reteaming her with 9 to 5 director Colin Higgins. In the film, Parton portrayed Miss Mona, who must fight to save her "Chicken Ranch" brothel after a public campaign to shut it down. The film earned Parton a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. She also rerecorded her 1974 song "I Will Always Love You" for the film, which then dominated the country charts.

Parton was particularly excited to do the film due to her costar, Burt Reynolds. "They have to rewrite it a little for Burt and me, 'cause I said I wouldn't do it unless I got to kiss him," she joked in a 1980 interview with Roger Ebert , prior to filming.

But the shoot didn't meet her expectations. In her 1994 autobiography, she called the film's production "a miserable, spirit-numbing ordeal."

How to watch: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is currently available to rent or buy on Prime Video .

Can you imagine Sylvester Stallone as a country singer? In the musical comedy Rhinestone , which was co-written by Stallone, Parton's nightclub singer bets that she can turn New York City cabbie Nick (Stallone) into a crooner in order to get out of her dead-end contract.

While Stallone called Rhinestone "the most fun I ever had on a movie," the film was a flop, with the actor admitting that "silly comedy" didn't quite work for him. Still, the soundtrack, much of which was penned and performed by Parton, was a success , with the song "Tennessee Homesick Blues" reaching the top of the country charts and "God Won't Get You" peaking at number 10. Parton also scored a Grammy nod for "Tennessee Homesick Blues" in the Best Country Vocal Performance, Female category.

How to watch: Rhinestone is currently unavailable ondigital streaming. You can purchase a DVD copy on Amazon .

This ensemble film, about the lives of a group of Louisiana women based on the 1987 play of the same name, was a massive hit. It starred Parton as Truvy Jones, owner of a small-town beauty shop, alongside Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts. The film earned Roberts her first Academy Award nomination.

"I thought this was the perfect role for me because if I had not made it in the business, I would have been a beautician because I would have had to have got discount prices on makeup and hair color and bleach, and all of that," Parton told Vanity Fair in 2020. "So I felt like Truvy. I felt like I was fit right in that spot, and I really liked the role that I played. And that was a huge success. I loved working with all those women."

Unlike Parton's other work, this one was not centered on music. Though Parton wrote the song "Eagle When She Flies" for the movie, the filmmakers ultimately chose not to use a theme song for the film . Instead, the track — hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the best of Parton's career — became the title song off her 1991 album.

How to watch: Steel Magnolias is currently available to stream free with ads on Pluto TV .

In this romantic comedy, Parton stars as a small-town woman who stumbles into a job giving advice on the radio in Chicago, and falls for the investigative journalist (James Woods) who begins looking into her background.

Ten of Parton's songs were used for the film's soundtrack, including a rerecording of her 1976 song "Light of a Clear Blue Morning."

In a 1992 press conference, Parton revealed that the script had come her way seven years before the film got made. Per Parton, the role was eventually given to her Steel Magnolias costar Roberts, who eventually passed, allowing Parton to pick it up.

"We certainly `Dollyized' it," Parton said at the time. "It was a wonderful script, but a lot of [the dialogue] was ad-libbed. I can't hardly not ad-lib when I get something like this."

She also spoke about how proud she was to do the film, which she felt embodied so much of who she was.

"If I died tomorrow and never did another movie, it's a way for my family, my nieces, the younger kids in my family to see me and say, 'OK, that was Dolly the songwriter, that was Dolly the singer, that was Dolly the producer of the songs, that was Dolly the personality, Dolly the attitude, Dolly the values, the principles, the sense of humor,'" she explained. "It's just some of everything that I am, more than anything I've ever done."

How to watch: Straight Talk is available to rent or buy on Prime Video .