Reba McEntire Chats With Dolly Parton About New Career-Spanning Book

Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton came together for a heartfelt 35-minute TalkShopLive conversation on Sept. 25, where they reflected on their decades-long friendship, shared memories, and Dolly's upcoming book, Star of the Show. The event streamed live at 8:00 p.m., allowing fans to watch the two icons connect and even purchase signed copies of Dolly's new release, which will be available on Nov. 11.

Dolly's new book is the third installment of her photographic trilogy, following SongTeller and Behind the Seams. While the first two books highlighted her songwriting journey and iconic wardrobe, Star of the Show celebrates her seven-decade career in entertainment. Fans can now pre-order the book and watch the entire conversation online.

During their talk, Reba expressed her deep admiration for Dolly, calling her a role model and praising her generosity and down-to-earth spirit. “Dolly Parton is my hero because of how much she gives back. She's down to earth. Every time I've been around her, she treats everyone the same. She is a great person for your children to look up to and to listen to. She's witty, she's funny.. Dolly is always one of the family.”

Reba also shared her feelings about their close bond. “People always ask me who my best acquaintance, best friend is in the business, and I always say 'well, I don't really have time to hang out with anybody but I always think of Reba as one of those people that I just feel very close to. We just seem to do a lot of similar things, and I just always relate to everything you're doing. I love your show and I love you on ‘The Voice.' I just love everything you do.”

The conversation touched on shared faith, beliefs, and mutual understanding. “I think our beliefs and everything we stand for are so similar … that's another thing that bonds us together,” Reba told Dolly. “I agree with that,” said Dolly. “We know who we are and we know what we have to do, and we have to do it the way we understand it,” said Dolly.

The friends also discussed Reba's current role as a coach on The Voice, Dolly's history as a guest mentor on the show, and their long-standing relationship, which began when they first met in 1977 at the Grand Ole Opry's Opry100 celebration.