Reba McEntire details wearing late Dolly Parton’s ‘personal’ jewellery for 2026 Emmys tribute

Reba McEntire wore Dolly Parton's "personal" jewellery for her Emmy Awards tribute to the late star.

The 71-year-old singer paid tribute to the late country star, who died last month at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer, at the ceremony by singing Appalachian Memories, and it has now emerged she accessorised her white sequinned gown with significant accessories.

An Instagram post from The Dolly Archive revealed, “Tonight at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, @Reba McEntire paid tribute to Dolly with a performance of "Appalachian Memories." The Dolly Archive was honoured to loan Reba a few pieces of Dolly's jewelry to wear during her performance, including Dolly's earrings from the "Does He Love You" music video and a butterfly ring from Dolly's personal collection."

Reba chose the jewellery she wore from a selection of items, telling Vogue.com, "My manager, Justin McIntosh, surprised me by asking Dolly’s niece, Rebecca, if they would loan some of Dolly’s jewellery for me to wear. They graciously said yes, and it was an honour to have a little piece of her on stage with me. I picked a pair of rhinestone earrings and a butterfly ring. There’s nothing that says Dolly more than rhinestones and butterflies!”

And the country music star felt special wearing Dolly's own jewellery saying, “It was so special to have Dolly with me on stage. I'll never forget getting to wear her jewellery.”

Reba’s Michael Schmidt gown also paid homage to the Jolene hitmaker.

“I wanted to wear something sparkly, just like Dolly would have done. When Dolly did her first TV special, Live in London, in 1983, she wore a white fringed gown, and that’s where she first sang Appalachian Memories. So, my white gown is a little nod to that moment,” she said.

The two stars were friends for several years, and Reba will always cherish her memories of their time together. “We didn’t talk as much as I would have liked to—it was hard to stay in touch like that when we were both always working so hard!”

"Dolly communicated mostly via fax. I asked Kenny Rogers one time if he had Dolly’s phone number, and even he didn’t have it. Our catch-ups usually happened when we worked together, which thankfully was a lot over the years. We’d talk about our families and friends that we shared. I cherish those memories,” Reba McEntire said of her memories with Dolly Parton.