Following Dolly Parton’s death at 80 last month, her estate revealed that the Queen of Country had several projects in the works, including a documentary and an ABBA Voyage-style avatar show. Meanwhile, a stage musical based on her life and career is set to debut on Broadway this Christmas, featuring her hit songs. And it turns out a movie biopic, potentially directly based on Dolly: A True Original Musical, is also planned. And there’s only one Hollywood star who could do her justice on the big screen.
Fans might point to Dolly’s goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, or Oscar-nominee Florence Pugh (who almost starred in a Madonna biopic) to play the Queen of Country in a movie. Yet the perfect woman to play the 9-to-5 singer performed a duet with her just last year.
I’m talking about Sabrina Carpenter, who had Dolly sing a remix and co-star in a music video of Please Please Please from the deluxe edition of her Short n’ Sweet album, back in February 2025. The 27-year-old blonde bombshell isn’t just the right age and same height (5ft) as Dolly with the same cheeky charm to boot; she’s also an actress turned Grammy, Emmy and Brit award-winning singer-songwriter in her own right, who was close to in real life. Sabrina even said, “We look like we could be sisters!”
Upon Dolly’s death, Sabrina wrote on Instagram: “Oh Dolly [heartbreak emoji] the only thing I could say after we first met was ‘She really is an angel walking the earth’ and ‘We look like we could be sisters!’ I will cherish our laughter and conversations, and I will keep your wisdom, your playful outlook on life, and perfect sense of humour in my pocket for the rainy days. There will never be another you and how lucky are we all to have experienced your singular magic as well as your once in a lifetime voice, songs, and heart.”
Considering Dolly was a global treasure at 80 and Sabrina is an incredibly popular pop star for young people today, her casting would be ideal for drawing a wide net audience across demographics, in a musical film that would easily be a box office hit. Over to you Hollywood.
