Sally Field, Reba McEntire Honor Dolly Parton at Emmys After Death
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.
Trae Patton/NBC via Getty Images
“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.”
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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 stars at the 2026 Emmy Awards, keep reading.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Tiffany Haddish
AFF-USA/Shutterstock
Michael J. Fox, Traci Pollan & Kids Sam Fox, Esme Fox, Aquinnah Fox & Schuyler Fox
Jesse Grant/NBC via Getty Images
Awkwafina
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Mark Ronson
in Celine.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Tyler James Williams
in Canali and Christian Louboutin shoes.
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Christopher Chung
in Dunhill.
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Marta Pozzan
Vivienne Westwood, Paris Texas shoes and Neil Lane jewelry.
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
in Dior and Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Ted McGinley & Gigi Rice
in custom Jack Victor (McGinley).
Todd Williamson/NBC via Getty Images
Rosalind Eleazar
in Miss Sohee.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Marisol Ribeiro & Marcello Hernandez
in Prada (Hernandez).
Jesse Grant/NBC
Isabel Gravitt
in Alex Perry, Gianvito Rossi shoes and Sophia D jewels.
LISA O'CONNOR / AFP via Getty Images
Sally Field
in Akris.
LISA O'CONNOR / AFP via Getty Images
Grace Gummer
in Dior.
Todd Williamson/NBC via Getty Images
John Oliver & Kate Norley
Jesse Grant/NBC via Getty Images
Taylor Dearden
Jesse Grant/NBC via Getty Images
Jack Lowden
Jesse Grant/NBC via Getty Images
David Harbour
in Giorgio Armani.
Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images
Mo Welch & Brett Goldstein
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
John Mulaney & Olivia Munn
in Brunello Cucinelli (Mulaney) and FFORME (Munn).
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Amy Poehler
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Emilia Clarke
in Prada.
Jesse Grant/NBC
Shawn Hatosy
custom Louis Vuitton and Omega watch.
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Claire Danes & Hugh Dancy
in custom Giorgio Armani Privé and Martin Katz jewelry (Danes).
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jessica Williams
in Honor, Tyler Ellis bag, and Jessica McCormack jewelry.
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Sterling K. Brown
in Brunello Cucinelli.
Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Dan Levy
in Celine.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Amanda Peet
in Givenchy.
Randy Shropshire/NBC
Janelle James
in vintage Roberto Cavalli.
Jesse Grant/NBC
Jaclyn Smith & Cheryl Ladd
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.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.