Reba McEntire Has No Regrets About Passing on 'Titanic'

It’s all too easy to talk to Reba McEntire and forget that she just happens to be a country music queen and beloved American personality recognizable by a single name and hair color.

She arrives at her Zoom interview four minutes early because, as she explains in her Oklahoma twang, “I don’t want to waste anybody’s time.” She doles out life advice at regular intervals, declaring that a woman of a certain age who has yet to find a mate “just hasn’t met the right person yet!” She’s wearing a T-shirt and jeans, for crying out loud.

And just wait until McEntire gets rolling on the joy of plastic Solo Cups.

“I’m a second-generation Solo Cup user,” she says. “My mama [Jacqueline] always had them at the house and you found your cup. It could be from three Thanksgivings ago!” To this day, she adds, she’ll ask her loved ones to write their names on their respective cups and then she’ll wash and store them for future use: “I just like them because if you drop them, they’re not going to break. And this way, I’m not wasteful!”

McEntire pours her favorite food and drink recipes, pearls of wisdom, travel tips, autobiographical details and much more into her glossy lifestyle book, Not That Fancy (available Oct. 10). The title is not only a play on one of her classic tunes (1990’s “Fancy”), it epitomizes her down-home philosophy. “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” she says. “If you’re going to have a group of people over and your china’s out of storage, don’t worry about it. If your house is not cleaned up, don’t worry about it. If you don’t have time to cook everything, don’t worry about it. Make it a potluck.”

Instead, she advises would-be hosts to remember their priorities of friends, family, fun: “A dinner party is for the fellowship. It’s for visiting. It’s for playing games. It’s for telling stories around a table!”

McEntire, 68, has enough anecdotes to last through the next century. The native of McAlester, Oklahoma, landed in Nashville before her 21st birthday when she was just a young rodeo champ with a booming voice. Since then, she’s amassed 24 No. 1 songs and sold an estimated 90 million records worldwide, making her the second-best-selling female country artist in history. She became a star on the Broadway stage with her performance in Annie Get Your Gun and on TV courtesy of the hit WB sitcom, Reba (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe). She’s also been married twice and is mom to son Shelby Blackstock, 33.

And because she loves trying new things, McEntire just started her run as a red chair-swiveling coach on The Voice along with Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Niall Horan. “We’re absolutely having a blast!” she says. “The first day was a little rough because I didn’t know all the rules. There’s a lot of strategy to it! But now it’s going great. We’re getting along real well.”

Related: Watch the ‘Exceptional’ Performance of a Reba McEntire Song That Earns a Four-Chair Turn on ‘The Voice’

McEntire had recently finished taping and was relaxing at the Los Angeles home she shares with her boyfriend, actor Rex Linn, when she checked in with Parade.

Mara Reinstein: Why was this the right time for a book like Not That Fancy? 

Reba McEntire: A lot of things came out of COVID. We couldn’t go on tour so you need something to do. I wanted a cookbook because I’d started my restaurant in Oklahoma, Reba’s Place. Then I wanted great pictures of the food beside the recipe because I hate a recipe without a picture! I want to know what it’s going to look like! And then I wanted stories because Rex and I love to cook and entertain.

What’s your signature dish? 

My smashed potatoes. I first had them at a restaurant years ago. You cook the potatoes and smash them up after they’re cooked. Then you fry the potato with coarse salt. Rex caramelizes the potatoes, and we put in the garlic and it’s amazing.

Do you entertain a lot of your fellow country music superstars? 

Not often. One time I had Vince Gill and Naomi Judd over the house for dinner. And it was the most fun! We had a blast just cutting up. Terri Clark has been over my house a lot, and we go over to her house. She cooks steaks like you would not believe. Trisha Yearwood is a great cook. But, unfortunately, everybody is busy.

How much does your Oklahoma background factor into the “Not that fancy” credo?

One hundred percent. My mother-in-law? Whenever we went to the Blackstocks on Thanksgiving or Christmas, it was the finest of their china. [She was married to producer Narvel Blackstock from 1989-2015]. The girls would go out in the backyard and get leaves and spray-paint them with gold and you’d get a place setting. Then we’d get to Mama’s house and there were paper plates and plastic forks and spoons and grab your Solo Cup. There were no formalities. The only thing we did was sing a couple of songs and say prayers and play games and start eating.

Related: Reba McEntire Might Be a Simple Gal, But Her BLT Is Anything But

What did your family make of your talent when you were younger? 

My siblings and I were known as The Singing McEntires in junior high and high school. It was me and my older brother, Pake, and my little sister, Susan. Alice didn’t sing that much. So, the three of us were singing in Oklahoma City for [musician] Red Steagall and Mama got with Red and said, “Can you get the kids in the business?” He said, “Let’s see if we can get Reba’s foot in the door in Nashville.” But first Mama went to Pake and Susie about it and they said to let me go. For a little bit there was a butting of heads, but everybody was happy the way it turned out.

How old were you? 

I sang The National Anthem for Red when I was a sophomore at college [at Southeastern Oklahoma State University]. I was about 20. I had just gotten married [to steer-wrestling champion Charlie Battles].

Were you scared to go to Nashville? 

Well, I had Mama with me. I never was by myself. I came from a rodeo, ranching family. And the music world was totally foreign to me. I had no idea. I thought if you had a song on the radio, you’re rich and you had a bus the next day. That wasn’t the way at all. I recorded in ’76 and didn’t have a No. 1 record [“Can’t Even Get the Blues”] until ’83. I didn’t get a royalty check from sales of my record until ’88 after I had won four CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards. So, it was really wild that I didn’t make any money on my records until 1988—12 years after I had signed with PolyGram Mercury Records.

Did you still feel like you were a success? 

Yeah. Part of the way. I got successful in the ’80s because my tours got bigger. I headlined my first in ’84. It was a disaster but we learned what we did wrong and did baby steps. By the mid-’90s, we had more trucks than Madonna and Michael Jackson. We had lights and dancers flying everywhere and it was a big show.

So where did the money go? 

One reason was because I paid for half of my music videos. I was one of the first people in Nashville to shoot a music video and it was well worth it. And then my videos became mini movies. My fans absolutely loved them.

Were you ever interested in crossing over into the Top 40 world? 

It did interest me. I tried to do that. You know, the way I talk with my Southern accent, nowadays, it doesn’t matter. But back then, people said, “Yeah, we can’t make it happen.” I was fine with it. I can’t say it was a preference of mine to go pop—my people were just trying to broaden my audience. And if that wasn’t going to work, fine. We went a different direction with the Reba TV show [in 2001] and broadened my audience that way.

But way before Reba, you started acting with the cult classic that is Tremors. How did that come about? 

I was a guest on The Pat Sajak Show. Tony Curtis was on that night. And I get out of the makeup chair and someone said to me, “You slid right in because this show has been canceled.” But they were still going to air the show that night. Gale Ann Hurd, one of the producers, was watching the show and said, “Let’s see if Reba McEntire will come in and audition” and that’s how it happened.

And you film a movie about giant worm-like monsters below the ground and think what . . . ? 

What have I gotten myself into?! We were filming in California while I was touring on the East Coast. It was a lot of late-night flying. Then it’s freezing cold in the desert in the morning and then by noon you’re burning up. It was hot, dusty and dirty. But I got a big kick out of it after a while. That’s always how it is when I say yes to new things. Once you get in the swing of things, you have fun and meet new friends and it’s fine. It just takes a bit of getting used to.

What happened with Titanic? You were supposed to play “The Unsinkable” Molly Brown. 

I auditioned. I got the part. I was thrilled to death. And the producers said, “OK we need you for these three months.” We booked our tour before and after those three months. And then they said they had to move those three months. But we had all the arenas booked and couldn’t move it—I have a huge amount of people on the road with me who are relying on me for their paycheck. I asked them, “Is there any way you can . . . ?” and they said “No, I’m terribly sorry.” The part went to Kathy Bates, and she did a wonderful job. I was fine with it.

Were you really fine with it while you were watching the movie? 

I hated that I didn’t get to do it. But as Mama and Daddy always said, “You take care of your people and you do what you set out to do.” And I had to take care of my crew and my band.

Do you believe everything happens for a reason? 

Everything does happen for a reason. And timing is everything. I tell kids to sing everywhere you can because you never know who’s in the audience.

What do you love about being on a screen that you can’t get from music?

You can be another person or you can act silly. If somebody says, “Why did you act that way?” you say, “It was a character!” But with the Reba TV show, everybody that grew up with me kept saying, “That’s you!” And yeah, that’s why I enjoyed it so much! I got to be the me that I really wanted to come out all these years—a sassy little redhead.

It’s true—many fans probably aren’t even that familiar with your musical repertoire.

One time I was signing autographs after the taping and this woman came up to me and said, “My daughter is a big fan of yours.” And she said to her little girl, “Did you know Miss McEntire sings?” She said no. The younger generation didn’t know me. But it made me feel good.

Which of your songs best represents you as a person and as a talent?

I’d say “Fancy” because it’s about a rags-to-riches way of life. Persevere, stay in there, work hard and you’ll achieve your dreams. And I like “I’m a Survivor” for all those people who have been through hard times. I’m a survivor. I’ve been through things, and I know you have too. So, let’s help each other and be supportive and move forward.

>>> Sign up for Parade's Daily newsletter and get the scoop on the latest TV news and celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox <<<

You talk a lot about your faith in the book. Does it get you through the tough times? 

It does. I love to go to church. You know, you’ve got to have somebody that is a therapist, a great listener, a middleman or woman. Someone there to listen. I just get this real peaceful feeling from God when I know what He wants me to do. Sometimes it’s really loud and sometimes it’s very soft-spoken. But I listen. The only thing I can do to take credit for the success is that I’ve listened.

Your mom died in 2020 and your dad, Clark, passed in 2014. What did it mean for you that your parents saw your accomplishments? 

Everything. Mama was my cheerleader. She encouraged me. I miss her so much. The biggest compliment my daddy ever gave was after a concert for a meet-and-greet. I just laid down on a padded bench, exhausted. And Daddy did on the other side and he propped his head on his own and said, “Reba, you sure do work hard.” I knew he meant it. I also remember getting into a limousine with them after I won Entertainer of the Year at the CMAs and Daddy said, “It’s always good to drive home with a winner.” He was a three-time world champion steer roper, so I knew he was proud of me. They were proud of all their kids.

Do the awards mean a lot to you, too? 

Oh, yeah. I love to win. When I first started, I’d live for the next awards show. I’d get in shape and find a new outfit to wear. I’d politic hard to win. It blows my mind when people say they use their trophies as a doorstop! Absolutely not. I’ll never forget Miranda Lambert and I were both up for an award and I said, “Good luck, Miranda.” She said, “Eh, I already won it. It can go to somebody else.” I’m like, Those words will never come out of my mouth! I work my butt off all year long to win—remember that I came from a world where people were competing. I’m not a sore loser but I love to win.

Speaking of love: Do you believe in love despite some rocky relationships?

Absolutely! Rex and I knew each other from 1991 when we did a Kenny Rogers Gambler movie. We stayed in contact. Then in January 2020, we were on Young Sheldon and went to dinner with [costar] Melissa Peterman. When my tour manager dropped me off in front of that restaurant, I couldn’t get into it quick enough to see Rex.

At 68, do you think about your mortality a lot? 

I’m not afraid to die. I know where I’m going. I know where my family and loved ones are going. We’re going up to heaven. We’ll all be together. I just do not fear it all. But don’t get me wrong—I’m not ready to go right now! That’s His decision; not mine.

Reba, your book is loaded with pieces of advice. Which one is your ultimate go-to? 

Have fun. I was so serious when I had my music career in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Mainly the ‘80s. I missed out on a lot of fun times. So, all the kids I mentor now? I tell them to have fun. Write down everything you’re doing because it will fly by so fast that you won’t remember.

Related: Reba McEntire's Porch Day Lemonade Is a Sweet Summer Send-Off