Dolly Parton Revealed Who Inspired Her Iconic 'Cartoon' Look in Resurfaced Interview With Ellen DeGeneres: 'The Town Trash W----'

While speaking with DeGeneres, who pointed out Parton previously referred to herself as "a cartoon," the country star decided to give "honest truth" about her presentation.

Parton recalled her modest upbringing when her family would "only go to town every once in a while." However, on those rare occurrences, she would always see a woman who she referred to as "the town trash wh---."

She added, "But I thought she was beautiful. I didn't know what any of that meant and I would just see this woman with yellow hair piled on her head, her bright red lipstick, red nails, high-heeled shoes. And I thought she was the prettiest I'd ever seen."

Her mother, though, didn't share the same sentiment, telling a young Parton the woman was "trash."

This didn't deter Parton who told DeGeneres, "And I thought to myself, 'That's what I want to be when I grow up is trash.' Because I thought that was a word for how she looked and that was how to look, so I grew up to look just like her."

The mystery woman's name was never revealed. Parton preferred to keep that detail a secret to protect the woman's family. She admitted the woman, though, was no longer alive as she was older even when Parton was a child.

"She might not have been a wh---. She might have been like me. She might have just looked like one. Maybe she thought that was a pretty way to look because I know most girls, most country girls, that's the way you think you're supposed to look."

Parton also detailed the lengths she went to, even early on, to gain her signature look with very little money in the family.

"We had nothing, " she said, before explaining her makeup routine, like painting her eyebrows with burnt kitchen matches.

Parton also told the TV host she'd use ripe berries in the summer to make a blush. She said, "I used to make a little water dye. It makes a little, and then you have a little rouge and so you'll figure it out if you're inclined."

Parton's nephew, Brian Seaver, announced her death through an Instagram video.

"This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality. As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”

He added, "It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens."