Dolly Parton plays a role in her upcoming movie on NBC, "Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love," that she says inspired her as a child.
"We call her the 'Town Tramp,'" Dolly giggled during an interview with WBIR 10News on the set of the film. She's also referred to the character in interviews as the "Town Trollop" and "Painted Lady."
Dolly said the character is a real person from Sevier County where she was born and raised. Dolly added that the real life "Painted Lady" inspired her iconic look that's made headlines through the decades.
"I actually was so impressed with and influenced by (her) when I was little and the way she looked. That's what I really patterned my look after because she had all this big, yellow hair, big lips, finger nails, high heels, tight clothes. So I was just in awe of her," said Dolly.
In the movie, little Dolly, played by nine-year-old Alyvia Alyn Lind, encounters "the Painted Lady" in the streets.
"We just thought, 'Wouldn't it be a cool thing for me to play that part, to be the 'Painted Lady' little Dolly sees in the streets?' So I get to actually act a little bit in it," Dolly said.
Lind said she was thrilled to get to work with her idol again after the success of the first film, "Coat of Many Colors."
"Getting the call that we're doing the second one - Wow! Just wow! It was like, 'Yes! Yes!'" Lind said.
On the set, Lind said she tries to absorb as much as she can from Dolly.
"Dolly is definitely an inspiration to me. She teaches me so much stuff," Lind said.
Dolly also is the executive producer on the film, as well as narrator and vocalist.
"I wondered if this day in time if people were still interested in those kind of shows. I know for me, I missed things like 'The Waltons' and 'Little House on the Prairie,'" she said, "People are always a sucker for a rags to riches kind of story and my life really has been that."
"Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love" airs on WBIR on Nov. 30.