By Michaela Gordoni
Dolly Parton’s mom once told her to be true to herself, and ever since then, she has.
“‘To thine own self be true,’” Parton’s mom told her. “There’s a whole lot of meaning in that phrase,” Parton told TODAY. “Because I’ve always tried to stay true to me. And always, when people ask me for advice, that’s kind of what I tell them.”
She says to be yourself on purpose, with purpose.
“You got to know who you are because so many people try to emulate or copy somebody else,” she said.
She explained that it’s important to have your own values and principles instead of following others’.
“Don’t ever sacrifice who you are, your principles and your morals and your values to just try to get ahead in business. It ain’t worth it,” she said.
In another interview, she explained that you can’t be happy if you only care what others think about you. She learned a long time ago not to care about what others want.
Her late husband, Carl, also told her to be herself. When she had career doubts, he’d tell her, “You’re Dolly Parton. Go out there and show ’em who you are.”
Parton says her authentic self comes out in her music, style and choices.
“There are some people just born beautiful, and then if they add more stuff, they’re just more beautiful. But then there are people, like me, that you just try to make the most of what you got,” Parton says.
“I’m not tall. I’m never going to be like a supermodel, so I like to wear my high heels. My hair, I used to try to tease it to make it all it was, and with the bleach and all that, I thought, ‘Well, I’m gonna start wearing wigs,’” she said.
Parton thinks she isn’t naturally beautiful, but she is beautiful how God made her.
“I’ve had people through the years say, ‘Oh, we need to tone it down. Nobody will ever take you serious looking like that because you look like trash.’ I said, ‘Well, I was influenced by the trash in my hometown,” she said about her outfits.
“So I’m not trash, but I like that trashy look.’ And I just like that Frederick’s of Hollywood, you know, that glamor girl kind of look,” she said. “And that never went away.”
“So I never thought that I had to change it just because somebody else said I would,” she adds. “I only change anything because I say it.” She’s a tough cookie.
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