Serving as Executive Director of the upcoming Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum, Rebecca Seaver brings a deeply personal connection to the role. As Dolly Parton’s niece, she carries a unique perspective that bridges family legacy with the museum’s vision. Coming to Nashville later this year, Seaver details the exciting process and heart behind the upcoming exhibit.
Tell us about your journey that led you to become the Executive Director of Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum.
I mostly grew up in Antioch, Brentwood, and Franklin. As a teenager, I worked with Dolly a bit—styling her outfits and organizing her closet—before spending some time in San Francisco and Los Angeles. I then returned to Nashville and resumed working with Dolly. During my time with her company, I assisted some of her core team members—including her manager, Danny Nozell, her Creative Director, Steve Summers, and her best friend and longtime personal assistant, Judy Ogle. Judy taught me everything I know about Dolly’s Archive and preserving her legacy… I spent a lot of my childhood with both her and Dolly, and I think that has served me well in my various roles in her enterprise… especially now.
As Dolly’s niece, I’m sure you have fun stories! What are some of your earliest memories of her, and how do they influence how you tell her story today?
I was really lucky to grow up here in Nashville, right down the road from Dolly, so she was very present in a lot of my childhood memories. She came to my dance recitals at TPAC, read stories to my school at the Crockett Elementary cafeteria, and joined me in taking my son trick-or-treating in 12 South—like we had done when I was a kid. She exudes love and genuine connection, so telling her story that way is foundational. She may be my aunt by DNA, but she is the world's Aunt Dolly, too. I get to share that bond from a very authentic place.
Can you tell us more about your work with the Dolly Parton Archive and how this combined your personal and professional worlds?
I have worked for Dolly for many years… at first, it was just a way to earn some extra cash organizing this or that, but as a young adult, it became a way to work my way into the music industry at large because I was working in set design and live show production. As it evolved, I realized I had a place inside her company that really was tailored to my experience and instincts. As the demand for more exhibits and legacy work increased, it became apparent that this was bigger than just isolated projects; it required an entire department and serious attention. Therefore, I decided to create that department. Dolly is so generous in her belief in me that she allowed me to do it. Working in her Archive is personal because these are my memories too... I’ve been involved, professionally, in so many of these projects for the past 20 years—I’ve rhinestoned many guitars and high-heeled shoes! I also have childhood memories of the things that predate my professional time with Dolly. I’ve been playing in this my whole life… she’s been dressing me up like a doll since I was born—and we have the glamour shots to prove it!
In addition to working with Dolly, you have contributed to major exhibits at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and more. How has your experience prepared you for this role?
Getting to work with those incredible institutions was because of Dolly and her incredible career and impact on the world. Her family and her roots are such an important piece of her story and who she is, so having that as a cornerstone inside the museum—not only as part of the exhibits, but as its leadership as well—is a very special thing that I do not take for granted. I hope people who visit can feel how much love, care, and thought we have put into every corner. When we research facts about her family story, those are my ancestors, too, so it all comes full circle for me. I am proud of the past, present, and future members of the family… We are a unique bunch.
You know Dolly‘s heart and spirit better than most. How do you capture that in her exhibit?
She is incredibly invested in this and all of her many projects—we work hand in hand. She is very involved with every single piece of this museum, from the paint colors to the information in the artifact labels. She’s an integral part of the process… it all goes through her and my aunt Rachel, who plays a massive part in making this museum happen, as well.
What do you hope every visitor at the museum takes away from their experience?
I hope every visitor can walk away feeling inspired to follow their dreams and ambitions the way Dolly has. I hope people learn about her, her story, and walk away feeling like they can put more kindness into the world—the way she does. We should all strive to be a bit more like Dolly in our everyday lives… I think this world would look a lot better if we did.
Why was Nashville chosen as the home for the museum, and how does that location help bring Dolly Parton's story to life?
Dolly is from the Smoky Mountains, but came to Nashville to make her dreams come true… and she did just that! For the last 60 years, she has been in Nashville, becoming the icon that she is today—so for us, this is home base. This is where the Archive is, and this is an exciting moment to have a museum so close to home. We have another museum experience at Dollywood that we are extremely proud of, but maintaining a museum that is far from our home base has always been difficult. While we cherish the moments we created for our guests at Dollywood, having this museum here is a special opportunity we can finally take advantage of. This will be the largest Dolly exhibition we have ever done. We have ensured it will be accessible to everyone, exciting for all ages, interactive for everyone to enjoy, and something really unique to Dolly. This experience contains elements no other museum has ever offered, and we are really proud of that.
What is your ultimate goal in this role, and how do you see the museum evolving for years to come? My ultimate goal is that this museum becomes not just an attraction for entertainment in Nashville, but a cultural institution for education. We hope to also be a good community member. We have an event space where we plan to host a range of different public and private events, allowing people to share their most memorable and exciting moments with us. We hope that one day, people will feel about the Life of Many Colors Museum the same way they feel about Dollywood in East Tennessee—that these places are staples of the local community, not just the tourist industry. We want to be a good employer, a good neighbor, and a fun place to go with your family and your friends. This is not just a one-and-done experience. People will see something new every time they visit, I am sure of it.
How has working so closely with Dolly's legacy influenced your own creative and professional path?
I think anyone who works with Dolly for any amount of time elevates their work ethic because she works so hard and is so dedicated to her mission. As a performer myself, I value the history of my craft and the artists who came before me. I’m working on a very special project for the history of dance and entertainment in Tennessee because I have been a dancer and entertainer my entire life—aside from my job with Dolly. She has pushed me to think not just about myself, but also about the community around me and how my work affects those who come after me. I love history and women's history, and especially love preserving both.
What is the biggest lesson or piece of advice you’ve learned from Dolly?
Find out who you are and do it on purpose—that resonates with me in so many ways in my personal, creative, and professional life. I really feel like working with her in this specific role is an ancestral calling for me. I look so much like my grandmother—her mother, Avie Lee—it is almost like a maternal instinct to care for her, her legacy, and my family story this way. I hope my family will be able to still be connected to this work and share her story for many, many generations to come. Hopefully, my niece or future cousins will become my intern one day…
dollyslifeofmanycolors.com
“She may be my aunt by DNA, but she is the world's Aunt Dolly too.”
“We should all strive to be a bit more like Dolly in our everyday lives... I think this world
would look a lot better if we did.”