Hollywood superstar Jennifer Aniston has gone full-on Dollywood playing a former beauty queen and single mom in the Netflix film "Dumplin' " ( streaming Friday ). Country legend Dolly Parton agreed to let producer Aniston use her classic songs and wrote six original numbers (including the Golden Globe-nominated "Girl in the Movies," co-written with Linda Perry). Further, the two became real-life girlfriends as well.
"I'm living out so many people's fantasy," says Aniston, 49, who has pulled through real-life drama this year after her high-profile, but amicable, divorce from husband Justin Theroux earlier this year. As she sits down with USA TODAY, Aniston is all bright smiles, especially after having Parton sign several album covers.
Question: Did I literally see you getting a Dolly Parton autograph?
Jennifer Aniston: Those are for my girlfriends. There’s a lot of Dolly worship out there. Not only have I been able to create something with her and sing with her, but I've even girlfriended with her. I'm humbled.
Q: You have a dog named Dolly?
Aniston: Yes, I do (proudly showing her iPhone wallpaper of a white shepherd). That’s her, she’s even blonde. When she was a teeny thing, she sat in my hand. I said, "You're just a little doll. You’re a little Dolly Parton." She's beautiful.
More: Jennifer Aniston responds to Dolly Parton’s threesome bombshell joke: ‘My mouth just dropped’
Also: Justin Theroux breaks his silence on 'heartbreaking' split from Jennifer Aniston
Q: Did Dolly the dog and Dolly Parton bond?
Aniston: It was so cute. Dolly the dog came up to her and sniffed her. And then Dolly went down to her. I have this sweet picture of them nose-to-nose.
Q: You've never done a beauty pageant. What would've been your talent?
Aniston: (Concentrates with eyes closed.) I don't know. I can't twirl a baton, can’t yodel, can’t tap dance. My talent would just be, well, nothing that would serve me in a beauty pageant. Unless you would let me do a monologue from a Neil Simon play.
Q: Rosie and her daughter (played by Danielle Macdonald) have a challenging relationship. How much did that go back to the relationship with your mother, Nancy Dow (who died in 2016)?
Aniston: "Dumplin’ " kicked up stuff for me about my mom and our relationship. It was definitely push-pull. My mom wasn’t doing anything intentional to damage any self-esteem of mine, as we discussed in our older years together. She was doing what she thought best. She wasn’t raised with great parental support. She was a beautiful, stunning girl and that’s how she made a living, modeling. She was teaching me what she thought was important. Which was how to look good. That wasn’t necessarily where my interests lay.
