Meet Dolly Parton’s Longtime Best Friend Judy Ogle

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Soulmate status doesn’t only exist between lovers. Dolly Parton may have both a romantic and a platonic soulmate. Parton’s love story with her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean, is comparable to a Shakespeare sonnet. But her love for her best friend, Judy Ogle, is just as meaningful. Their bond was so intimate that people often speculated the two were having an affair.

Parton is known for being a vocal ally for the LGBTQ+ community, so much so that one of the false facts people believe about her is that she is a lesbian and committed to Ogle. “There was some story recently (in the National Enquirer) where I was supposedly marrying my longtime friend Judy (Ogle) and that my husband was OK with it!” she told Pride Source in 2014. “I am not gay, but if I were I would be the first one running out of the closet.” Still, a few years later, Parton had to dismiss the rumors again, telling The Sun that it was all just gossip.

In reality, the pair have been lifelong best friends, beginning their story in Tennessee. “Judy and I have been best friends for 64 years, since we were little kids,” Parton told the outlet. “Our ­parents knew each other, we grew up together, we were like ­sisters, became best friends.” They were a lock and key in terms of their personalities. “She was very quiet, I was very outgoing,” the “9 to 5” singer said. “So we made perfect friends. We went all through school together.”

Judy Ogle was Dolly Parton’s assistant for some time

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After high school, Judy Ogle went into the Air Force and Dolly Parton headed to Nashville to start her singing career, and eventually Parton got her big break. After the military, Ogle decided to work with Parton. “Judy came to work with me as my assistant, my valet, hairdresser, makeup artist, everything she needed to be,” the “Jolene” hitmaker wrote in her 1994 memoir “Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business” (via Archive). Her friend even worked with her on late-night writing sessions, knowing exactly what Parton needed and when. “Just about the time my blood sugar gets low, she’ll be there with a bowl of Jell-O,” wrote the musician.

Ogle’s official title should include Dolly Historian because the veteran is the whole reason there is an archive of Parton’s most iconic wardrobe pieces. “Judy has saved everything: her shoes, her costumes, hats, and most importantly to Dolly, her fan art,” Parton’s niece Rebecca Seaver said at the 2019 opening of “Dolly: My Opry Memories,” a celebration of Parton’s 50 years at the iconic Grand Ole Opry (via ABC News). “Judy was just adamant on making sure that these things were taken care of and stored properly,” said creative director for the musical icon Steve Summers. “And there would be no archives without Judy Ogle.”