What you need to know
Dolly Parton looks great in gold!
The 79-year-old country superstar accepted the Gene Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in a video message at the 2025 Governors Awards on Sunday, Nov. 16. The win marks Parton’s first Oscar win, having been nominated twice for Best Original Song.
Parton, who accepted the award via video from her home in Nashville, called it a “huge honor” and “the blessing of a lifetime.”
“I grew up in a house with 12 kids,” Parton said while holding an Oscar statuette. “This alone shows us how important it is to share. Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t have a lot to share, but mom and dad set an example that the more you give, the more blessings will come.”
“I have tried all my life to live up to their example, and I have been blessed beyond anything I could have ever imagined, 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 these kinds of things lightly,” Parton continued. “It makes me want to come up with new ways to uplift people. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be here for? So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Parton’s Oscar statuette was presented at the Academy’s 16th Annual Governors Awards event held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles. Debbie Allen, Tom Cruise and Wynne Thomas also received honorary Academy Awards at the ceremony.
Kevin Winter/Getty
Never miss a news. Sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to human interest stories.
“Beloved performer Dolly Parton embodies the spirit of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award through her unwavering dedication to philanthropy,” Academy President Janet Yang said in a June statement announcing Parton’s award.
Kevin Mazur/Getty
Although best known for her career as a country superstar (she has sold more than 100 million records worldwide), Parton is a longtime philanthropist. She founded the Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to inspire children in her Tennessee hometown to achieve educational success, and in 1995 the foundation launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that gifts 285 million books a month to children under the age of five.
Parton appeared on the cover of PEOPLE this week to coincide with the release of her new book, Star of the Show: My Life on Stage.
Jim Wright
“You know, I’ve moved on so fast in my life,” she tells PEOPLE. “And I just start thinking, ‘How the hell did I live my life? How did I manage to do it?’ When I was putting this book together, I realized how much I had sacrificed in my life. I didn’t have kids, so at least I didn’t feel guilty. I’m grateful to see my dreams come true.”
The “9 to 5” singer also shared insight into her private world, revealing that she starts her day at 3 a.m. and always wears heels around the house.
“I’m short so I have to reach the cabinets!” she joked. “I like to wear a little bit of makeup. I don’t always wear a wig, but I like to put my hair up a little bit, because you never know who’s going to come over or if someone’s going to have to come fix the fridge or whatever.”
In the issue, a source close to Parton shared an update on the recent health issues that caused Parton to postpone her Las Vegas stay from December to September 2026 in September.
“Dolly is getting better day by day,” the source said. “She’s been taking care of herself at home while lots of friends and family come to visit. In true Dolly spirit, she’s already started decorating for Christmas. It’s her favorite time of the year.”
