Our favorite country redhead Reba McEntire covers the December/January issue of AARP magazine, where the country singer and TV sitcom star opens up about everything from her acting career to her reverence for fellow country music diva Dolly Parton!

Reba, who looks ravishing and casual in jeans on the magazine's cover, spoke about why she has such a passion for acting. It's not just because she is so good at it – if you are not watching her new hit TV show 'Malibu Country' on ABC on Friday nights, you are missing out but you can read our weekly recaps to do some homework and start watching next week. It's that she always wanted to indulge her desire to "play."

“It’s something that’s wanted to come out ever since I was little, at playtime with another person. That’s what I absolutely love to do," the singer said about her "other" job.

She was also asked about the comparisons to Parton, and was quick to dismiss any sort of notion that she may have eclipsed the legend even though she has more CMA Award nominations; Reba has 49, while Dolly has 43, so it's a difference of six, for those keeping score at home! “It’s not that I’m a better singer. Dolly is still my idol. I still have not passed her in my eyes," McEntire said, deferring to Dolly!

Her 'Malibu Country' co-star Lily Tomlin, who plays her eponymous character's mother Lillie Mae, also praised the singer for her "realness," saying, "Reba totally makes it fun. There's no ego. She comes in like she's a teenager, laughing, going, 'How are yew?' Or, 'He's a mo-ron.' That accent is to die for. And that little impish grin of hers cracks me up. She's just normal, but you'd hardly call her average."

Reba's marriage to Narvel Blackstock is also a topic of discussion, as is her relationship with son Shelby, 22, who refers to their relationship as that of "best friends."

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