RELATED: Dolly Parton, country music legend and cultural icon, dead at 80
Parton sat down with On The Red Carpet's George Pennacchio in 2023 to talk about her life from songs, stage and screen.
In a music career that began when she was still a child, born into poverty in the tiny mountain community of Pittman Center, Tennessee, Parton went on to become one of the world's most successful and admired entertainers, regarded as a country music living legend. Her trademark style - big blonde hair, flamboyant clothes and makeup - was cultivated early in her career, while she was still in her teens.
Parton released "Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones" in 2023 on how her iconic style evolved over the years.
"I take my negatives and try to make them into positives, and I always feel better being more flamboyant," she wrote.
Parton's style helped her get noticed but her musical gifts made her unforgettable. She wrote and recorded many of country and pop's most enduring songs, including the hits "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors" - added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2011 - "Here You Come Again," "Love Is Like a Butterfly," "9 to 5" and more.
So what was Dolly's secret to success over the years?
"I have a lot of inner confidence and I was always surrounded you know with good people."
The 2023 special "On The Red Carpet Icons: Dolly Parton" can be seen in the video player above.
ABC News contributed to this report.