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How Sally Field, Reba McEntire Honored Dolly Parton at Emmys 2026 Weeks After Her Death
Here comes the enormity of Dolly Parton’s legacy again.
Weeks after the country icon’s death from cancer at the age of 80, Parton was honored with a special tribute at the 2026 Emmy Awards on Sept. 14 that left not one dry eye inside the Peacock Theatre.
"If there are truly angels on earth, then we just lost one: Dolly Parton," Sally Field shared onstage. "It was my great good fortune to have worked with Dolly in a film called Still Magnolias and, over the years, I never stopped loving her."
"She was genuine and humble," the Emmy winner continued, "supportive and blisteringly funny with a bawdy sense of humor that would send any rude guy looking for a place to hide."
While Field said she "adored" Parton from the start, she admitted, "I couldn't see then what a real giant Dolly was—not just as an artist, but as a human."
"God bless you, Dolly Parton, my friend," Field added. "I am not the only one on earth that will love you forever and ever."
The moment also featured a performance from Reba McEntire who sang Parton's 1983 track "Appalachian Memories."
During her storied career Parton had been nominated for five Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Television Movie in 2021 for her work on Christmas on the Square.
Shortly before the ceremony, Emmys producer Jesse Collins had confirmed that the Mariska Hargitay-hosted ceremony would feature a tribute to Parton, although he noted they didn’t want to make it too much of a spectacle.
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“We’re holding it back,” he told Variety in an interview published Sept. 10. “But I think it will be a very beautiful tribute to Dolly.”
Since the “Jolene” singer’s death on Aug. 25, her family has shared more information about her final days, with niece Jada Star explaining that Parton didn’t want to make news of her cancer public.
“She never wanted to worry anybody,” Star told Extra in an interview published Sept. 1. “We kind of kept all that stuff real private.”
And despite knowing about the Grammy winner’s health struggles, her death still came as a “shock,” with Star adding, “I can’t remember a life without her.”
Thankfully, she and the rest of Parton’s family have been able to find solace in the outgoing tributes to the late singer.
“It's also been really bittersweet because of this beautiful opportunity we've had to see how much the whole world loves her,” she said. “So, all of these tributes have helped so much to help us all through it.”
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And of course, Parton’s legacy will live on not only through her music but also through her Imagination Library, a non-profit that provides free books to children under the age of five.
“My dad couldn't read or write and that was kind of crippling to him," she shared in her 2020 documentary The Library That Dolly Built. "Of all the things I’ve done in my life—and it’s been a lot because I’ve been around a long time—this is one of the most precious things and the proudest I’ve been of any program I’ve ever been involved in, working with these kids."
For more stars at the 2026 Emmy Awards, keep reading.
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Ayo Edebiri
in Chanel and Mikimoto jewelry.
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Shailene Woodley
in Balenciaga.
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Julia Garner
in Loewe and Marco Bicego jewelry.
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Sarah Jane Nader & Brooks Nader
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Tiffany Haddish
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Allison Janney
in Pamella Roland.
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Harrison Ford & Calista Flockhart
in custom Paul Smith (Ford) and Zuhair Murad (Flockhart).
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Emilia Clarke
in Prada.
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Amy Poehler
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Julianna Margulies
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Florence Pugh
in Vivienne Westwood.
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Jessica Williams
in Honor, Tyler Ellis bag, and Jessica McCormack jewelry.
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Sterling K. Brown
in Brunello Cucinelli.
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Paul Anthony Kelly
in Louis Vuitton and Vacheron Constantin watch.
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Michelle Pfeiffer
in Saint Laurent.
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Kaley Cuoco & Tom Pelphrey
in Giorgio Armani (Pelphrey).
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Linda Cardellini
in Yara Shoemaker.
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Sally Field
in Akris.
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Sarah Snook
in Cartier jewelry.
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Michael J. Fox, Traci Pollan & Kids Sam Fox, Esme Fox, Aquinnah Fox & Schuyler Fox
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Rhea Seehorn
in Louis Vuitton and Swarovski jewelry.
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Awkwafina
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Mark Ronson
in Celine.
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Tyler James Williams
in Canali and Christian Louboutin shoes.
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Grace Gummer
in Dior.
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
in Dior and Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
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Ted McGinley & Gigi Rice
in custom Jack Victor (McGinley).
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Rosalind Eleazar
in Miss Sohee.
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Marisol Ribeiro & Marcello Hernandez
in Prada (Hernandez).
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Isabel Gravitt
in Alex Perry, Gianvito Rossi shoes and Sophia D jewels.
Don't miss the Emmy Awards 2026 live telecast tonight, Sept. 14, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC and streaming on Peacock. E!'s red carpet kicks off at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.
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