Dolly Parton to get honorary Oscar 44 years after first nomination
Dolly Parton is getting an Oscar (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Dolly Parton is getting an Oscar (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Decades after her first nomination, Dolly Parton is finally set to receive an Oscar.
It was revealed on Tuesday (17 June) that the singing superstar was to receive the award for her humanitarian work. There will also be gongs for Hollywood giant (in some terms) Tom Cruise, choreographer and Fame star Debbie Allen, and production designer Wynn Thomas.
The awards are given “to honour extraordinary distinction in life-time achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or outstanding service to the academy”.
Parton will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles in November, Variety reported.
Janet Yang, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said: “This year’s Governors Awards will celebrate four legendary individuals whose extraordinary careers and commitment to our filmmaking community continue to leave a lasting impact. The academy’s board of governors is honoured to recognise these brilliant artists.”
“Jolene” singer Parton “exemplifies the spirit of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award through her unwavering dedication to charitable efforts”, Yang added.
Parton was first nominated for an Oscar for best original song in 1981 for the theme tune to 9 to 5. She was nominated again in 2006 for the song “Travelin’ Thru” from Transamerica, a film about a transgender woman, played by Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman, who goes on a road trip to reunite with her long-lost son.
Parton has sold more than 100 million records and set up the Dollywood Foundation in 1988, which champions education initiatives in East Tennessee, where she was born.
One initiative, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, has distributed more than 285 million books worldwide since 1995, according to Variety.
She has also been one of the LGBTQ+ community’s biggest allies. As well as calling out those against same-sex marriage, she has encouraged Christians to be “more loving”. And she donated $1 million (approximately £780,000 at the time) to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which helped develop the Moderna vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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