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Gold looks good on Dolly Parton!
The country superstar, 79, accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in a video message on Sunday Nov. 16 at the 2025 Governors Awards. The win marks the first Oscar for Parton, who has twice been nominated for Best Original Song.
As she accepted the award in a video from her home in Nashville, Parton called it a “great honor” and “a blessing of a lifetime.”
“I grew up in a house with 12 kids,’ Parton said as she held her Oscar statuette. “Now, that alone teaches you how important sharing is. Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t have that much to share. But my mom and daddy showed me by example that the more you give, the more blessings come your way.”
“I’ve tried my whole life to live by their example and I’ve been blessed more than I ever dreamed possible. Like this award tonight — The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences,” she added.
“It’s an honor just to be considered … I don’t take this kind of thing lightly,” Parton continued. “It makes me want to dream up new ways to help lift people up. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be here for? So from my heart to yours, I truly thank you.”
Parton’s Oscar statuette was presented at the Academy’s 16th Governors Awards event, which took place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles. Debbie Allen, Tom Cruise and Wynn Thomas also received Academy Honorary Awards at the ceremony.
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“Beloved performer Dolly Parton exemplifies the spirit of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award through her unwavering dedication to charitable efforts,” Academy President Janet Yang said in a June statement announcing Parton’s prize.
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Though best known for career as a country superstar (she’s sold more than 100 million records worldwide), Parton is a longtime philanthropist. She started the Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to inspire the children in her home county in Tennessee to achieve educational success, and in 1995, the Foundation launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a monthly book gifting program for children under 5 that’s given children 285 million books.
Parton appeared this week on the cover of PEOPLE amid the release of her new book Star of the Show: My Life on Stage.
Jim Wright
“You know, I have just been going so fast my whole life,” she told PEOPLE. “And I just start thinking, ‘How in the world did I even have a life? How did I even get it done?’ I really realized when I was putting this book together just how much I had sacrificed in my life. I never had children, so at least I didn’t have a guilty feeling. I’m thankful that I got to see my dreams come true.”
The “9 to 5” singer also shared insight into her private world, revealing that she starts her days at 3 a.m. and always wears heels in the house.
“I’m short, I got to reach my cabinets!” she joked. “I like to put on a little makeup. I don’t always wear the wigs, but I like to pull my hair up a little bit. Because I never know who’s going to come by or if somebody has to come fix my refrigerator or whatever.”
In the issue, a source close to Parton shared an update on her recent health challenges, which in September caused her to postpone her Las Vegas residency from December to September 2026.
“Dolly is getting better every day,” the source said. “She is at home taking care of herself while many friends and family visit her. In true Dolly spirit she has already started decorating for the holidays — her favorite time of year.”
