Country music star Dolly Parton is no stranger to controversy, but in her latest tell all biography she reveals a completely different side of herself, and frankly we want to know more.
From growing up in a poor family in rural America, to singing on the big stage and starring in Hollywood classics, Dolly has seen (and done) it all.
A lifetime in the spotlight means Dolly has some really good stories about her fellow silver screen pals, her ongoing marriage controversy and all those plastic surgery rumours.
These are the three biggest surprises from her new book and we can’t put it down.
1. She gained 23kg from binge eating
Binge eating has always been a struggle for Dolly Parton, and then in the early ’80s a 23kg weight gain from binging forced her to go on a diet.
“I was always just a hog, I still am. I’m short and I have a big appetite. I can’t do nothing just a little,” Dolly said in her book.
Junk food is one of her vices, and she said loves the very smell of food, french fries, popcorn, peanuts and McDonald’s, but sticks to small portions now.
2. Hardly anyone ever sees the real Dolly Parton AKA without makeup
Well, not many people actually know, as the star has famously kept her ‘natural’ look well hidden from cameras and prying eyes.
Dolly’s mysterious husband Carl Dean is also rumoured to rarely see her not in her stage-ready state.
But this is not a concern for Dolly, who says in her book “I want people to know it’s me when they see me coming and when they see me leavin […] So I figured I might as well look even more extreme.”
“I like the big hairdo, the gaudy clothes. I’ve never thought of myself as being a sex symbol and I don’t want to have to be a beautiful woman, like Raquel Welch.”
3. She has been in an open marriage since 1966
Dolly has been fighting off the tabloids since their wedding in 1966, but little is known about Carl Dean. A former road paver, he has shunned the spotlight and is in an open marriage with Dolly.
After squashing any rumours of a separation or divorce, Dolly says in her book “‘we’re so totally open and free… I always call him Daddy and he calls me Mama or Little Kid or Angel Cakes. Sometimes he calls me Dotty to be silly.”
She also denies that she is actually gay, and not dating her long-time assistant Judy Ogle.
