Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
“…they weren’t afraid to step outside the box and push boundaries.”
When it comes to shaping her career, Lainey Wilson draws inspiration from two of her biggest idols — Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire — role models for the kind of lasting artist she hopes to become.
Fans first got to know Wilson in 2020 with her breakout hit “Things a Man Oughta Know,” but her Nashville journey actually began nearly a decade earlier, when she packed up and moved to Music City in August 2011. Once her star began to rise, her momentum never slowed — ultimately earning her 16 ACM Awards, nine CMA Awards, a Grammy, and membership in the Grand Ole Opry. And, as Wilson often says, she’s only just getting started.
On Sunday night, she joined Vince Gill for a moving performance of “Go Rest High On That Mountain” during the Emmys’ In Memoriam tribute. Before the show, Wilson spoke with Entertainment Tonight about balancing her surging music career with her growing presence in acting.
“I honestly never thought I’d be acting, but I feel like my storytelling naturally led me here,” she explained. “These doors opened, and I’m all about embracing opportunities. When I think about the kind of artist I want to be, I look at people like Reba and Dolly. They always kept music at the heart of everything, but they also weren’t afraid to push boundaries and step outside the lines.”
Parton and McEntire have long set the standard for multi-hyphenate success, balancing music with acting while also building empires in fashion, home goods, and beyond. Wilson is already carving a similar path. In addition to her red-hot music career, she’s launched her own Wrangler collection, along with jewelry, boots, and other ventures — and from the looks of it, her acting portfolio is about to expand even further.
Wilson first appeared on screen as Abby, an aspiring musician, in Yellowstone’s fifth season. Since then, Hollywood has been knocking.
“I’m honestly getting pitched things right and left, which is cool,” the Louisiana native recently told Taste of Country Nights. “Opportunities where I am a musician, opportunities where I’m not, opportunities just to write for shows.”
And it’s not just one-off roles. Wilson says she’s “entertaining a lot of things,” describing the possibilities as “kinda endless at this point.”
Her next big step: making her feature film debut in Universal Pictures’ adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel Reminders of Him.