6 Times Dolly Parton Was Open About Plastic Surgery

She's never pled the fifth.

By Tatiana Bido, Aesthetic Content Manager · Mar 28, 2023

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Country and music legend Dolly Parton has never been shy about answering questions about her appearance. The voluptous 77-year-old singer has fielded questions about her body and face since she got her start in the late 50s. Today, she’s still answering questions about what she hasn’t or has had done with the same humor and quick wittedness that makes her a beloved superstar.

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1977

In an interview with Barbara Walters, the iconic country singer was asked, “Is it all you?” in reference to her “full figure” as Walters called it.

“I get asked that question and I will always add to that back because people are in awe of the whole thing,” responded Parton, who was 31 years old at the time. “A lot of people say I have, a lot of people say I haven’t. I always say that if I hadn’t had it on my own, I’m just the kind of person that would have had it made.”

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1992

When promoting the movie Straight Talk, Parton told the Chicago Tribune she has never had silicone injections. ”I’ve been known for my boobs long before people started having the implants, and I have never had silicone injections,” she said. “’I have had some cosmetic surgery, especially after I lost weight and stuff, and I’ve had my breasts lifted, but not injected. That would scare me to death, anyway.”

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2003

“You’ve been open about the fact that you’ve had some work done,” Oprah asked the singer when she visited The Oprah Winfrey Show. “You’ve had some nips, pulls and tucks.”

Parton replied with her quick wit, “Yes, I have, and I’ll have some more when I need ’em. A funny little thing I was telling the girls who are on this tribute album, a lot of them are very young. I tell them I was already into plastic surgery when they were still sleeping on plastic sheets.”

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2011

In a 2011 interview, Parton proudly told The Guardian that “if something is bagging, sagging or dragging, I’ll tuck it, suck it or pluck it.”

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2019

“It is true that I look artificial, but I believe that I’m totally real,” the singer said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “My look is really based on a country girl’s idea of glam. I wasn’t naturally pretty, so I make the most of anything I’ve got.”

“I’m telling you, I’m not,” she said when host Tony Dokoupil begged to differ. “You should have seen me this morning before I got ready to see you. I’m serious, though. I’m not a natural beauty, but I can enhance it. Whatever it takes, I do. I try to make the most of everything.”

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2020

“I don’t think about my life in terms of numbers,” she told Oprah on an episode of Apple TV+’s The Oprah Conversation. “First of all, I ain’t never gonna be old because I ain’t got time to be old. I can’t stop long enough to grow old! I’m gonna look like a cartoon,” she joked. “I’ll have on the makeup. I’ll look as young as my plastic surgeons will allow me and [with] all the makeup and lighting and all that. But I think more than anything, it’s about what comes from inside you.”