Nicole Kidman‘s tribute to Dolly Parton, which she shared to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday evening, was short and sweet. The Australian powerhouse wrote alongside a photo of her family posing with the country music legend, “We will always love you, Dolly.” She capped off the sentiment with a white heart.
In the photo, Kidman poses with her former husband Keith Urban on the red carpet at an event for the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2023. Dolly stands to Nicole’s left, while the group is flanked by Kidman and Urban’s two daughters, Sunday Rose and Isabella Jane.
Dolly’s death from cancer was announced by her family on Tuesday, August 25. Her nephew Bryan Seaver was the first to break the news she was gone in a video statement, before press statements from her family later confirmed her “brief battle with cancer.”
Keith Urban Celebrated Dolly’s 80th Birthday by Reviving His Adorable “Applejack” Performance from 1978
“Hey Dolly, I wanna play you something,” Urban said in the clip. “This is me at 10 years of age.” Urban then smiles and nods through the sound of his 1978 performance of Parton’s song “Applejack,” which he originally performed on the Australian television show “Reg Lindsay’s Country Homestead.”
After the music finishes up, Urban tells Dolly, “I just wanna say you’ve been a massive inspiration to me for a long time, Dolly. And um….God, thank you. Than you for everything that you’ve ever done. musically, humanly, with your soul and your heart and your spirit. The songs you’ve written. The people you’ve helped. The artists you’ve inspired. The people you’ve inspired.”
Urban then appeared to be getting choked up and lost for words before he continued, “The um…..just the goodness that you’ve brought into the world. With your heart, and your curiosity and your passion. And your insane musical gift. You’ve used it and continue to use it in a way that is so inspiring, Dolly. It’s so inspiring. And it’s always new. Everything you do is brand new, fresh. It’s exciting, it’s innovative. You never stop, and it’s so inspiring. So thank you for that. Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me.”
He finished his birthday message by saying, “Here’s to many, many, many many years ahead. I love you Dolly. Happy birthday.”
Nicole Kidman Once Jokingly Warned Dolly ‘Don’t Take My Man!’
Back in 2022, Dolly playfully said in a promotional skit for her line of Duncan Hines cake mixes, “I love Keith Urban. I always thought that he was one of the most talented and cutest guys. I’m trying to hit on him because he’s got Nicole and who could beat that.”
She continued praising Urban, who was still married to Kidman at the time: “I love his writing and I think he’s so dear. He reminds me of my brothers from back home. I’d be happy to make a big ole cake for him and sing all his songs.”
After Urban replied, “”Miss Dolly I am so honored by the things you said, I definitely will bake a cake with you,” Kidman popped onscreen to warn, “I’ll bake the cake with you, but don’t take my man.”
