Even Dolly Parton's Sister Stella Never Saw The Singer Without Makeup After Her Career Took Off

From Dolly Parton's biggest hair moments that had heads turning to her over-the-top outfits and flawless makeup, the beloved country music icon was never seen in public looking anything but glam. Given all of the effort that went into her look, you may think that Parton shed her flashy persona in private. However, Dolly Parton's famous sister Stella, who is still so stunning today, revealed that Parton maintained her look at all times. 

A few weeks after her sister's passing in August 2026, Stella sat down with Gayle King on CBS Mornings to discuss Parton's final days and lasting legacy. During their conversation, Stella explained that Parton was never seen without makeup after she became famous. "No, she would sleep in her makeup when she would come spend the night with me. I wouldn't! I sleep with a pillow over my head," Stella said. She went on to clarify that, as her sister, she knew what Parton looked like bare-faced even if the "9 to 5" singer seldom went without it even in private. "She looked like me without her makeup," Stella quipped. Parton herself opened up on several occasions about her makeup habits. During a 2021 conversation with Harper's Bazaar, Parton revealed some of her biggest beauty tips and habits. "Of course, I don't always go out in rhinestones and earrings. But I like putting on a little makeup every day. At home, I don't want to look like a slouch for my husband, Carl Dean, who doesn't get to see me that much," Parton explained. "And I put on makeup because I never know who's going to show up at the door."

For a woman as unabashedly flashy and glamorous as Parton, it is no surprise that the "Coat of Many Colors" singer had her beauty routine locked in. Though there are plenty of gorgeous throwback pics of Dolly Parton that prove she's always been an icon, Parton never neglected her glam regimen — even well into her 70s. Parton described her makeup routine to Bustle in 2024, revealing how she enjoyed experimenting with makeup, particularly around her eyes. "I love making my eyes up more. I'm like an artist, like a kid with paints and crayons," Parton told the outlet. "I love to try new makeup, new colors, new designs. And I just love lining my lips this way one day and then being a little bold the next."

While Parton had access to all the high-end makeup a beauty enthusiast could ever want, the country star explained on several occasions that she typically preferred products from accessible brands. "I still find to this day, even though I have all kinds of expensive products, that the simpler ones are just as good. A lot of the time they work even better," Parton told Harper's Bazaar in 2021, listing Maybelline New York's eyelash curler and Pond's Cold Cream as two of her drugstore go-tos. However, for her lip products, Parton relied on high-end brands. "Lipstick gets on my teeth. Instead, I line and fill in my lips with a Lise Watier pencil, and put M.A.C Lipglass on top," Parton revealed. Parton's unapologetic love of all things beauty is an important part of her legacy as one of the world's most beloved stars.