Dolly Parton's Dream Cast: From Sissy Spacek to Miley Cyrus, the Stars She Wanted to Play Her

Dolly Parton never quite got a major movie biopic based on her life off the ground, but she left behind some thoughts on who could play her on the big screen. Parton, who died at 80 years old on Tuesday, August 25, gave a host of memorable performances on the big screen during her lifetime in movies like Steel Magnolias, 9 to 5, Rhinestone, and The Beverly Hillbillies. Over the years, Parton publicly contemplated adapting her own life into a feature film and offered up several stars who might be a fit to play her.

The Early Days: Sissy Spacek

While promoting 9 to 5 in a 1980 interview with film critic Roger Ebert, the singer, songwriter, and actress suggested that Sissy Spacek could play her in a theoretical movie. "Hmmmm. I dunno. Maybe if Sissy Spacek made enough money off of playin' Loretta Lynn, she could get herself a boob job," Parton joked at the time.

When asked what she would call a movie based on her life, Parton added, "Now that one I got a serious response to. I want to write a musical about my life, to be called Wild Flowers. It'll be a musical about sex, violence, religion, attitudes, and a lot of really fun things. Of course, I already wrote my life story in a lot of songs, too."

A-List Contenders

Decades later, Parton told Elle in a 2019 interview that she thought Reese Witherspoon and Scarlett Johansson could potentially portray her in a feature-length film. "That depends on when I get it done," she said at the time.

Even more recently, Parton told Insider in 2023 that she believed her goddaughter Miley Cyrus, now 33, "would be great" as her in a film. "She's tall, but you can't really tell that in a movie, and she'd have to put on some weight and get some bigger boobs," she said with a laugh. "Miley would have the voice. She'd have to raise it up a few octaves, though."

Three Dollys

Parton also spoke of her long-held desire to make a movie based on her life during a 2022 interview on the Mr. Nashville Talks YouTube series, where she also touched on the development of a long-awaited Broadway musical based on her life. "I do intend someday to be on Broadway but I'm thinking now that I might do my life story as a feature, and maybe possibly even a musical feature. We're in talks about that," she said at the time.

Regarding who the production could cast to portray her, Parton added, "It depends on when I get [the movie] done most of them age out. I've been wanting to do this for years, and I have to have three Dollys, really. We'd have to have a little Dolly, we'd have to have the medium one, and now that I've lived long enough to be older, I might wind up playing myself. But anyhow, there's many ways to do it."

The Broadway Musical

Parton officially announced the musical Hello, I'm Dolly, also known as Dolly: A True Original Musical in 2024. The musical debuted in Nashville in 2025, where Katie Rose Clarke, Carrie St. Louis, and Quinn Titcomb portrayed Parton at various stages in her life. The production is currently scheduled to begin previews at Broadway's St. James Theatre on December 7 and will officially open January 19, 2027, on what would have been Parton's 81st birthday. No casting news has yet been announced for the Broadway show.

The Television Movie

In 2015, NBC aired a made-for-television movie based on Parton's life titled Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors. The movie starred Alvia Alyn Lind as Dolly herself, with Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles and actor Ricky Schroder as her parents. Dolly's younger sister Stella, 77, also appeared in the movie, which largely covers Dolly's childhood in Tennessee. Dolly appeared in a sequel that aired on NBC in 2016 titled Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, which featured the same principal cast.

Parton's fascination with her own story reflects her understanding of the power of narrative. Her life from a childhood in poverty in the Smoky Mountains to global superstardom, is the stuff of legend. She knew that her journey could inspire others, and she wanted to be involved in how it was told.

Though a feature film biopic never materialized, her spirit will live on in the Broadway musical and the television movies that captured pieces of her story. And her jokes about who could play her, from Sissy Spacek to Miley Cyrus, offer a glimpse into her wit and her willingness to laugh at herself.

Parton's legacy extends far beyond her music. Her life story is one of resilience, creativity, and unwavering authenticity. While a full-length biopic may never come to fruition, the work she left behind, including the musical and the television movies, ensures that her story will continue to be told.

As the world mourns her loss, fans can take comfort in knowing that Dolly Parton's voice, her humor, and her indomitable spirit will live on through the stories she told and the lives she touched.