Julia Stiles made her highly anticipated “Dancing With the Stars” debut Wednesday night, paying tribute to late country music icon Dolly Parton.
The “Save the Last Dance” actress and her pro partner, Ezra Sosa, performed a beautiful Quickstep to “9 to 5” in honor of the singer, who died last month at the age of 80.
The hit song was originally written and recorded by Parton for the 1980 workplace comedy film “9 to 5,” which she starred in alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The Colin Higgins-directed film follows the story of three female coworkers — Judy Bernly (Fonda), Doralee Rhodes (Parton) and Violet Newstead (Tomlin) — who turn the tables on their obnoxious boss, Franklin Hart Jr. (Dabney Coleman).
“A couple weeks before Dolly passed, she approved this song, specifically for me. I’m so honored to be dancing to her music and honoring her legacy. I wanna make her proud,” Stiles explained on the show.
“She’s such a powerhouse and the song is so great. Like, it’s such an anthem. What a legend.”
Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli all raved over the performance, calling Stiles “beautiful,” “graceful” and “radiant.”
“You were in character, spot on, all the way through,” Tonioli explained. “You’re a great actor and a great dancer.”
They received a total score of 18/30 for the tribute piece, placing them high on the leaderboard.
Back in 2007, Parton made a guest appearance on “DWTS,” where she performed “9 to 5” in the ballroom alongside Season 5 pro dancers Derek Hough, Julianne Hough, Cheryl Burke and Mark Ballas.
“The fact that we got to highlight her magic on our show back in 2007, I mean, it’s really incredible,” Julianne gushed during an appearance on “Good Morning America” earlier this month.
“I think we are all so inspired by Dolly. Authenticity is a word that gets thrown out so often, but with Dolly, specifically, she never censored herself. She was always true to who she was.”
Julianne noted that authenticity is “what’s so important” about “DWTS,” too.
“Connecting and being real and honest and vulnerable,” she added. “Nobody does it better than Dolly.”
As Page Six previously reported, Parton died in Nashville, Tennessee, on Aug. 25 following a brief battle with cancer.
“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life [on Aug. 25] at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” her rep told Page Six in a statement.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand.”
The statement continued, “Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.”
Stiles and Sosa’s tribute to Parton came just one day after the Season 35 male contestants and their pro partners hit the ballroom for the special two-night premiere.
The evening ended with a surprise elimination, sending the first Season 35 pair home: “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Conner Leavitt and his pro partner, Adele Zaikman (who won the spinoff show, “DWTS: The Next Pro”).
The second couple to go home will be announced at the end of Wednesday night’s show.
Next week, “DWTS” will return to its regular weekly schedule, airing Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, and streaming on Hulu the following day.
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