Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Dolly Parton told TODAY in 1989 that it was easy to relate to her character Truvy Jones in "Steel Magnolias." Parton said that her experience doing her sisters' and friends' hair helped her craft her character, who was a beautician. Had Parton not made it in the music business, she said, "I probably would have been a beautician, and probably a good one."

Parton's family announced her death on August 25, 2026. She was 80 years old.

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