Dolly Parton Recreates Her Iconic 'Playboy' Cover Shoot for Husband Carl's Birthday

Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean, celebrated his 79th birthday this week, and the country music [...]

By Hannah Barnes

Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean, celebrated his 79th birthday this week, and the country music legend came up with a very unique gift for the occasion, which she shared with her social media followers on Tuesday. Parton posted a video of herself wearing a recreation of the outfit she wore to cover Playboy magazine back in 1978, when she was 32, donning a black bustier, black bunny ears, black gloves, pink cuffs and a pink bow tie.

"You're probably wondering why I'm dressed like this. Well, it's for my husband's birthday," Parton told fans in the clip. "Remember some time back I said I was gonna pose on Playboy magazine when I'm 75? Well, I'm 75 and they don't have a magazine anymore, but my husband always loved the original cover of Playboy."

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"I was trying to think of something to do to make him happy," she continued. "He still thinks I'm a hot chick after 57 years and I'm not gonna try to talk him out of that. And I hope he agrees, what do you think?"

The Grammy winner shared that for her husband's birthday, she did a photo shoot recreating her Playboy appearance and had a cover made of the "old-new Dolly." Parton joked that she was "kind of a little butterball" in her original shoot and is "string cheese now." "But he'll probably think I'm cream cheese, I hope," she added.

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The video ended with a photo of Parton surprising her husband with a photo from her new shoot framed alongside her original cover. "You think Playboy ought to pay for at least the photo shoot?" she asked fans. "I do!" In her caption, she added, "It's always #HotGirlSummer for my husband, Carl. Happy birthday my love!"

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Parton and Dean married in May 1966 when she was 20 and he was 23 after meeting when Parton was 18. Dean has stayed out of the spotlight for the past 55 years, and Parton told Gabby Barrett in an interview for Amazon Music last year that a cornerstone of her and Dean's relationship is "a great friendship."

"We're both funny, and we both have a great and warped sense of humor so we've always had a good time," she shared, via PEOPLE. "He's pretty much a loner and a homebody, and I'm a gypsy. But when I'm home, I love that. We don't do the same thing so it gives us different stuff to talk about. He doesn't get involved in my business, and I don't in his, so we have our own little world that we create for ourselves."

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In March 2020, Parton told 60 Minutes Australia that she wanted to pose for Playboy again to celebrate her 75th birthday, which was in January 2021. "I don't plan to retire. I just turned 74 and I plan to be on the cover of Playboy magazine again," she said. "See I did Playboy magazine years ago and I thought it'd be such a hoot if they'll go for it — I don't know if they will — if I could be on the cover again when I'm 75."

Asked if she would wear the same outfit she wore for her cover, she replied, "Maybe" and joked, "I could probably use it, boobs are still the same."

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As of Wednesday morning, Parton's video has been viewed over four million times on Twitter and nearly two million times on Instagram. "Let's be honest, Jolene never had a chance," one fan commented, referencing Parton's signature song, "Jolene." Another gushed, "Dolly and Carl forever!!!!! True love." A third fan shared, "marriage goals Dolly! You are both so blessed to still be having fun!"

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Some fans also got in a few jokes on Twitter.

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