Dolly Parton's True Life 'Coat of Many Colors' Movie Spotlights Faith in God, Blessings From Rags to Riches

By Julie Brown Patton

Entertainment icon and country music legend Dolly Parton shares the story of her humble beginnings and life lessons in a new NBC movie that premieres Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015, at 8 p.m. CST. The movie is based on her autobiographical 1971 musical hit, "Coat of Many Colors."

"Everything I am that's good came from my family and my faith in God," Parton told viewers of NBC's "The Voice" on Tuesday evening, as she joined the show to share information to Season 9's remaining contestants. She also performed her Coat of Many Colors song, complete with playing guitar.

Parton stepped out into the public's eye more than 50 years ago. As one of 12 children growing up poor in rural Tennessee, she launched a long-spanning singing career, as well as her Dollywood empire, which includes a theme park and resort.

"I've been blessed with great people helping me see my dreams come true," Parton said in a Today Show interview on Tuesday. "But it is an odd sensation to see your name [everywhere]. There's a Dolly Parton Parkway, and every time I drive up that street, it just warps my... I just think, 'I'm on Dolly Parton Parkway!'"

Parton, 69, has sold more than 100 million albums, and starred in popular movies, such as "9 to 5."

Coat of Many Colors is set in 1955, and focuses on young Dolly's life where she "learned that being rich or poor had little to do with how much you owned." She said the movie is more about celebrating the people that made her who and what she is. "It really celebrates my whole family," she said.

The film is set in the Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains. It is neither a biopic nor a musical about Parton's whole life and performing career, according to NBC material, but rather a family-oriented, faith-based story about the incidents in her and her family's life around the time she was nine years old.

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Dolly Partons' Coat of Many Colors new movie stars Jennifer Nettles, Ricky Schroder, Gerald McRaney and Alyvia Alyn Lind. Parton served as one of the executive producers. Lind will portray nine-year-old Dolly Parton, with Jennifer Nettles as Parton's mother, Ricky Schroder as her father and Gerald McRaney as her grandfather. Dolly Parton Facebook, Courtesy of Jeff Lipsky/NBC

The movie stars Jennifer Nettles, Ricky Schroder, Gerald McRaney and Alyvia Alyn Lind. Parton served as one of the executive producers. Lind will portray nine-year-old Dolly Parton, with Jennifer Nettles as Parton's mother, Ricky Schroder as her father and Gerald McRaney as her grandfather.

"Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" was written by Pamela K. Long. The film is a production of Magnolia Hill Entertainment and DP Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Fans on social media are sharing that they already were in tears, just from watching the trailer. Lorri Shankar posted: "(I'm) so happy this story has Dolly's hand in it and did not come along after she is gone. Told by anyone other than Dolly, it wouldn't be right. That is a blessing all its own."

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