Reba McEntire is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and a multi-faceted vocalist, entertainer, actor, author and businesswoman—much like one of her country music forebears, Dolly Parton. During a recent appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, McEntire shared what the late singer-songwriter, actor, entrepreneur and philanthropist taught her about work, confidence and success.
“I loved the way she carried herself with confidence and poise,” McEntire said of Parton. “She could cut a joke in a heartbeat, and she would make sure that everybody felt comfortable in her presence…when she came out to California and did the Reba TV show with me for a week [to film a 2005 episode of the series], she treated everyone equally. Everybody.”
McEntire also spoke of how meaningful it was to perform during the 2026 Emmys ceremony to honor Parton. During that ceremony, McEntire performed Parton’s 1983 song “Appalachian Memories” while wearing a sparkling white gown and jewelry, including earrings and a butterfly ring that had belonged to Parton.
“It was getting to sing for your buddy,” McEntire said. “It meant a lot to me when they said, ‘We would like for you to do it.’ I was honored. It was just like a little…my way of sending her off. And the day she passed, we were working on [the television show] Happy’s Place, and everybody was like, ‘Oh, Reba, we’re so sorry.’ I said, ‘Don’t say you’re sorry. This gal’s going home. She knows where she’s going. It’s a huge celebration.’ But I felt her with me the whole day.”
McEntire also discussed her own secrets for earning five decades of success in the music industry.
“What I did was try to reinvent myself, and that sounds really intelligent, and really that I thought about it a long time. But the deal is my attention span is like a two-year-old. So I need other things to go, you know, it’s like, ‘Oh, shiny. Let’s stay on this for a while.’ So when I got to go do the movies because of videos I would shoot, I said, ‘Well, I’m tired of doing videos. I want to do a movie.’ And then, when the movies started happening, then I got to be on a television show every once in a while. And then, I love Broadway. I love plays, and I’d never been in a play in my life. And they asked me to do Annie Get Your Gun…I absolutely love the theater.”
Asked if she would do another Broadway show, McEntire said, “Like anything, it would have to be the right cast, the right ensemble and the right script. I think it would be a blast to do a comedy with a little music in it.”
Beyond working together on the Reba television show, Parton and McEntire also teamed up in 2021 for a remake of “Does He Love You,” a powerful ballad McEntire originally recorded with Linda Davis in 1993. Earlier this year, prior to her passing, Parton had also released a collaborative version of her song “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” featuring McEntire, Parton, Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus and Queen Latifah.
Parton died on Aug. 25 at age 80, following a brief battle with cancer.
Watch McEntire’s appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show below.