Overview
- The Academy presented Parton with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 16th Governors Awards on Nov. 16 in Los Angeles.
- She accepted via a prerecorded message from her Nashville home, holding the statuette and calling the honor “the blessing of a lifetime.”
- The award recognizes her decades of philanthropy, including the Dollywood Foundation and Imagination Library, which has delivered 285 million books.
- A publicist previously cited a scheduling conflict for her absence, as outlets also noted recent treatments and her postponed Las Vegas residency now slated for September 2026.
- Lily Tomlin introduced her segment at the ceremony, where fellow honorees included Tom Cruise, Debbie Allen and Wynn Thomas.