Dolly Parton says she didn't take a day off work for her 78th birthday: 'Nothing wrong with working on your birthday'
JB Rowland / courtesy of Dolly Parton
- Dolly Parton celebrated her 78th birthday last week.
- Parton tells Business Insider she decided to work on her birthday this year.
- However, the country legend says she still had time to eat "great cakes and ice cream."
It seems Dolly Parton, who turned 78 last week, is still workin' 9-to-5 — even on her birthday.
The country music legend celebrated her birthday on January 19 and marked the occasion by working on future projects, she tells Business Insider.
"Nothing wrong with working on your birthday if you're getting good stuff done, right?" she says. "It was a nice birthday."
Parton tells BI that she was snowed in at home on her birthday, but neither that nor work stopped her from celebrating in style.
"I had all of these great cakes and ice cream," says Parton, who has just launched a new line of baking mixes with Duncan Hines.
"This year, I wanted a chocolate cake because it was so cold here and we were snowed in. I thought, well, I don't want more white, so I don't want a white cake," she adds. "We had enough of that. I think chocolate's very comforting, and you feel a little warm."
Parton also released an extended version of her latest album, "Rockstar," on her birthday.
The busy star announced Tuesday that she is expanding her partnership with Duncan Hines and its parent company, Conagra Brands. The singer has been working with Duncan Hines on her own dessert mixes since 2022.
New baking mixes set to hit stores this month include chocolate cake, yellow cake, cinnamon crumb cake, blueberry muffin, and banana nut muffin. A Parton-branded buttermilk pancake mix sold by Conagra is due to hit shelves later this year.
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Parton tells Business Insider that she started her own line of baking mixes because she loves to cook.
"People say, 'Why are you selling cakes and pies?' And I think, 'Because I can and it's good,'" she says.
"I have great memories being in the kitchen with a lot of wonderful people through the years," Parton adds. "But no matter what you're cooking, you're going to always want something sweet to eat after it."
Lucky Parton fans can also get their hands on a limited-edition "Bake Like a Rockstar" baking collection, which includes some of the star's new mixes, frosting, and Parton-inspired magnet and oven gloves. The collection is set to go on sale on Wednesday.