Dolly Parton has a very specific look that she’s described as the “town tramp.” She’s easily recognizable and can be picked out of a crowd immediately. However, what if she’s in a crowd of other Dolly Partons? That situation proved to be a little more difficult.
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In her 2012 book Dream More, Parton shared the story of entering a drag queen look-alike contest. Surrounded by other Dolly Partons, perhaps she thought being the real Dolly Parton would give her an edge. Maybe she just wanted to see if anyone would realize it was really her.
Mostly, the book revealed, she thought entering the contest would be funny. Parton purposefully exaggerated her appearance, teasing her hair bigger and overdoing her makeup. Once she got to the L.A. bar where the contest was held, she didn’t let on that she was the real Dolly Parton. She was given a number and got in line with the other drag queens.
The Real Dolly Parton Got the Least Applause During a Dolly Parton Look-Alike Contest
When it was Dolly Parton’s turn, she sashayed across the stage with dramatic flair. However, she received the least applause out of all the drag queens.
“All of these other beautiful drag queens had worked for months and weeks getting their clothes and all that, and they were dressed like me,” Parton explained in a 2012 interview. “So, I just got in the line and I just walked across [the stage] and they just thought I was some little, short gay guy. And I got the least applause, but I was just dying laughing inside. I say it’s a good thing I was a girl or I’d be a drag queen.”
Dolly Parton lost the drag queen look-alike contest, but she took it in stride. For Parton, it seemed to be just a fun thing to do on a trip to L.A. and not some sort of identity crisis.
To this day, though, Parton loves telling that story. In a radio interview in May 2025, she described the moment she walked across the stage.
“Nobody applauded, like a little trickle that was probably David, my hairdresser,” she said. “But we laughed so hard. So I always told the story that I entered a Dolly lookalike contest and lost.”
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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