“Let’s be grateful for all that she has left us to ease our sadness now,” Fonda wrote of Parton in an Instagram tribute shared on Tuesday, Aug. 25
Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
NEED TO KNOW
- Jane Fonda shared an emotional tribute to her late friend Dolly Parton
- “She was simultaneously a naughty, playful southern gal from the hollows of Tennessee and a deep, soulful thinker,” the actress and activist wrote in an Instagram post shared on Tuesday, Aug. 25
- Parton died at the age of 80 on Aug. 25
Jane Fonda shared a heartfelt tribute to her late friend Dolly Parton.
After the country music legend died on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 80, the actress and activist shared an emotional Instagram post dedicated to her “loyal friend.”
“I am devastated,” Fonda, 88, began, sharing a black-and-white photo of her 9 to 5 costar. “I just learned that Dolly has moved on. I know that millions are mourning and I want to say this – more than anyone I have ever known, Dolly will always be with us because she was so present, so powerful, so generous and playful that she is woven into all our lives and hearts forever.”
The Grace and Frankie star then noted the “blessings” and “memories” that everyone has of Parton in her songs, Dollywood, 9 to 5 and the books she donated through her Imagination Library.
“Let’s be grateful for all that she has left us to ease our sadness now,” Fonda wrote. “I never knew anyone like her. She was simultaneously a naughty, playful southern gal from the hollows of Tennessee and a deep, soulful thinker who could see through people right down to their true selves. She was many things…lyricist, songstress, player of many instruments, writer, prankster, visionary, loyal friend, who’d never go to bed before she and her friends had laughed so hard they’d have to cross their legs.”
Fonda then praised Parton’s “survivor’s instinct” since she “seemed to always know just what to do, just what to say, to make things right.”
“And then she’s stick her butt out the car window and moon Kenny Roger’s home,” she quipped. “She was the voluptuous embodiment of empathy. That’s something of hers she’d want us all to take with us.”
Fonda then shared a message to Parton’s LGBTQ+ fans.
“To her gay and trans fans, I want you to know that she loved you. You know that without me telling you. She loved all her fans and they are legion. And you know she doesn’t want y’all to mourn now. Dress up and celebrate her spirit. But first, watch the final episode of Grace and Frankie where she’s an Angel, the head honcho working class angel in Heaven,” the Barbarella actress wrote.
“RIP, beautiful woman. We love you. ❤️,” Fonda concluded.
Fonda and Parton appeared together in 1980’s groundbreaking comedy 9 to 5 and remained close friends.
A story of sisterhood and solidarity, the film starred Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Parton as Judy Bernly, Violet Newstead and Doralee Rhodes, respectively, three women who get revenge on their sexist boss (the late Dabney Coleman) at a corporate office.
Credit: Chris Polk/FilmMagic
A musical adaptation of the film, with music and lyrics written by Parton, ran on Broadway between April and September 2009, per Playbill. It received four nominations at that year’s Tony Awards.
In 2018, Fonda announced that she, Parton and Tomlin, now 86, were planning to make a 9 to 5 sequel, but the “Jolene” hitmaker told Entertainment Tonight the following year that the idea was scrapped.
Credit: 20th Century-Fox/Getty
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“I don’t think we’re going to do the sequel,” Parton said at the time. “We never could get the script where it was enough different than the first one, and that one turned out so good.”
Parton also reunited with Fonda and Tomlin in the episode of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie mentioned in Fonda’s tribute in 2022.
Read the full article here