On August 25, 2026, singer, songwriter, actor, philanthropist, and all-around delightful person Dolly Parton died at the age of 80. Parton started her career in the 1960s and spent the next several decades building a reputation not just as an entertainer, but also someone who deeply cared about their fellow man. To that end, she made several important contributions to the scientific community, not to mention having a hand in a couple of great sci-fi/fantasy shows.
She appeared in The Orville
They still love Dolly Parton 400 years in the future
Probably Dolly Parton’s best cameo appearance comes in The Orville, a fantastic sci-fi show that was canceled far too soon. The show is set around 400 years in our future, when mankind is exploring the stars. Parton shows up in the third season episode, “Midnight Blue,” where she plays a simulated version of herself. The episode revolves around an alien named Heveena who is inspired by Dolly Parton’s music, particularly the song “9 to 5,” to mount a revolution against an oppressive society. Even far in the future, Parton’s music still speaks to people.
The cameo is tongue-in-cheek, but Parton is always fun to watch onscreen, especially when we get to hear her sing.
- Release Date
-
2017 – 2022-00-00
- Network
-
FOX
- Showrunner
-
Seth MacFarlane
She produced Buffy the Vampire Slayer
She saved the world a lot
Through her Sandollar Productions company, Dolly Parton was an uncredited producer on both the 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie and the 1997 TV series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, which ran for seven seasons and went on to become a cult classic that still holds up today.
Granted, Parton’s contribution was mostly limited to providing some financing for the movie and the series, but without her involvement, it’s possible we wouldn’t have this beloved hit show, not to mention its spin-off, Angel. Gellar once shared that the cast received personalized Christmas gifts with Parton’s name on them, and Parton praised the show in interviews.
- Release Date
-
1997 – 2003-00-00
- Network
-
The WB
- Showrunner
-
Joss Whedon
-
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Buffy Summers
-
Nicholas Brendon
Alexander Harris
-
Alyson Hannigan
Willow Rosenberg
-
Anthony Stewart Head
Rupert Giles
The first cloned mammal was named after her
Hello, Dolly
In 1996, Dolly the sheep became the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, rather than an embryo, a huge scientific advancement. Specifically, Dolly was cloned from a cell drawn from a mammary gland. That inspired the team behind the feat to name her after Dolly Parton. “Dolly is derived from a mammary gland cell and we couldn’t think of a more impressive pair of glands than Dolly Parton’s,” explained embryologist Ian Wilmut.
Is that a little crass? Sure, but it means that Dolly Parton’s name is forever associated with this scientific achievement, which is neat no matter how it came about.
She helped develop the COVID-19 vaccine
“Dolly gets a taste of her own medicine”
Near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dolly Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and helped fund the critical early stages of development on what became the Moderna vaccine. She was vaccinated against COVID-19 at Vanderbilt in March 2021. “Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine,” she said on social media. She also posted a clip of herself singing her song “Jolene” with the lyrics slightly altered, so instead of “Jolene,” she sang, “Vaccine.”
She was exploring the possibility of avatar performances
Maybe you can still see her live, after all
This one is a little controversial, but towards the end of her life, when she found that she couldn’t perform live on the level that she used to, Dolly Parton was looking into creating “avatar performances,” where a hologram of her would appear onstage even if she couldn’t. They were in the early stages of development when she passed.
Acts like KISS and ABBA have done avatar performances, while an avatar of Ozzy Osbourne is in development. Some of these attempts have gone over better with the public than others, but we’ve likely not seen the end of them, and at least we know that a Dolly Parton avatar would have her blessing.
She started the Imagination Library program
Can’t have scientific advancement without literacy
Part of the Dollywood Foundation, Dolly Parton founded the Imagination Library program in 1995 in honor of her father, who was illiterate. The program is aimed at helping encourage literacy in children; over 800,000 kids from around the world are enrolled in the program. Each is mailed one book per month from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten.
This is just one of the educational efforts Dolly Parton was a part of. Anyone who worked at her theme park, Dollywood, and wanted to go to college would get a free ride courtesy of the park. She was also known to discretely give money to local high schools. Parton was honored for her work in education and literacy many times by teachers groups.
To Dollywood and beyond
Dolly Parton has passed, but her legacy will live on. You can visit Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to this day, and the philanthropic foundations she set up will endure.
In addition to providing us with a lot of great music, movies, and TV, Parton set an example of what a very wealthy should do with their money, which will hopefully inspire people going forward.