United Kingdom, Aug. 29 -- Julianne Hough admired Dolly Parton for being "authentically true to herself".

The country music icon passed away on Tuesday (25.08.26), aged 80, and Julianne has paid a glowing tribute to the chart-topping star.

She told Extra: "Just how beloved she was by every single person and walk of life and how different we all can be, and yet there was a common agreement that she is love, she is light. She is authentically true to herself, which makes other people feel safe to be around her."

In 2018, Julianne was cast as Jolene in the Netflix anthology series Heartstrings, based on the Dolly Parton song.

And Julianne still has fond memories of her first-ever encounter with Dolly, who appeared as a guest on Dancing w...