Rebecca Romijn Says Dolly Parton ‘Honored’ By Name Choice
 Sam Sharma/Pacific Coast News |
The decision by Rebecca Romijn to name daughter Dolly Rebecca Rose, 9 months, after Dolly Parton may have taken some by surprise, but by Rebecca’s account the country legend wouldn’t have had it any other way.
During a Monday visit to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she revealed although she has enjoyed a lifelong “incredible, emotional” love affair with Dolly’s music, it was a backstage visit at Dollywood that sealed the deal.
“When I was six months pregnant, I saw her perform. Right before her show I sat with her and she asked me what I was thinking of naming my daughters,” the 36-year-old Eastwick star reveals. “I said, ‘I’m thinking about Dolly for one of them’…I was a little bit embarrassed to say it.” What happened next, however, removed any and all doubt.
“Dolly said, ‘Oh, I would be so honored. Dolly was the name I was given, it’s not short for anything, and I don’t have any children of my own. I would be so honored. Please do it! Please do it!’ Then at the show, she dedicated [the song] “Little Sparrow” to ‘her new friend Rebecca and her little girls.’ And I was like a puddle. A puddle!”
On the way back to the airport, Rebecca says she called husband Jerry O’Connell to tell him about her experience but she found herself struggling with the words. “I was gasping for air,” she explains. “He could tell I was incredibly emotionally verklempt, and at the end he goes, ‘You wanna name one of our girls Dolly, right?’ Done. Fine. We can do it!”
Click below to read about the twins’ latest milestones.
Dolly and her twin sister Charlie Tamara Tulip are “so fun,” Rebecca raves, and hitting lots of important milestones along the way. “They’re starting to get teeth and they’re starting to talk,” the proud mama reports. “Charlie is saying ‘mama’ and ‘baba’…I guess Jerry is baba.”
They’re also rough and tumble — which has thrown Rebecca for quite a loop! “I had this fantasy that when I would have two little girls they’d be wearing matching outfits with little bows in their hair,” she confesses. “But these girls wrestle, and whatever I put in their hair they pull out and it goes directly in their mouth.”
“Whatever babies shouldn’t do, they do. If I have a sweatshirt on with the cord in the hood, they pull it out and try to wrap it around their necks. I’m like ‘Nooooo! Don’t do that!’”
The girls are also very much on the move, courtesy of matching walkers which have mom and dad green with envy. “We have wood floors and we’ve rolled up all the rugs, and they go racing around and just play bumper cars all day,” Rebecca shares. “It’s so fun; Jerry and I want adult-sized walkers…we want in on that game.”
Rebecca’s new show Eastwick airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC.
Source: The Ellen DeGeneres Show
– Missy
- Posted on Oct 6, 09 at 4:00PM
- Permalink
- 28 Comments
October 6th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
What a nice story about Dolly Parton. I have always thought that she is one of the nicest and classiest people in show business. I love the stories Rebecca and Jerry share with us about their girls. It’s so obvious how much love there is in their family.
October 6th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
What a sweet story of meeting Dolly Parton! Both Rebecca and Jerry seem like so much fun. I am glad that they found one another!
October 6th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
That’s a really sweet story!
October 6th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Ha! I stand by my comments about Nicole Richie naming her child Sparrow. Little Sparrow is an amazing song! I adore Dolly, and I love this story very much.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I absolutely love Dolly Parton (and her music). I think it is such a nice story on how they came to name their little girl Dolly.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
OMG they use walkers??? Those are illegal in Canada, and rightly so, as they are very dangerous!
October 6th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
They do seem like a really fun couple/family! I live in Canada and have one of those walkers…I do know they are illegal though! In my opinion, it comes down to watching my child. I watch closely when he is in the walker…don’t leave the door to the stairs open, no hot coffee around, no knives near the edge of the counter etc. I will break it though when I am ready to get rid of it!
October 6th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Walkers are dangerous? Why? never heard of it, but I’m interested.
I think they’re useless anyway since they get the child used to kind of sit in it and not support his/her own weight or get balance, but I never saw them as dangerous.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Oh and I always like stories about celebs or their kids being the star-struck fans… Maybe someday Dolly will meet Dolly!?
October 6th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
How did she decide which one to name Dolly?
October 6th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Walkers are not illegal in The United States. They are not as dangerous as everyone makes them out to be. You obviously wouldn’t leave the stairs open and you would watch your baby. Just like if he was crawling or walking. Thats a parents choice rather they want their children to use a walker or not. Not the governments.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Alice – They are dangerous because many babies have fallen down the stairs in theirs. But instead of banning them….maybe kids shouldn’t be upstairs in theirs with the stairway wide open and not locked tight with a gate. I think they’re great!…as long as you don’t walk away or leave the room because they can get around quick in them.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
walkers… if you are a bad parent, you don’t need to blame it on a walker. Anybody who’d leave a baby in a walker or not with stairs accessible is asking for trouble. Yes, they move quickly in them, but you watch them while they are in the walker and you keep the area where they are safe as you normally would. My son was super cautious about practicing walking and having the walker helped him work up his confidence with being bipedal, I think. At least after a few days on it he was walking more solo. If you make the seat low enough it doesn’t support their weight and you’ll see them carrying it around, which means that it allows them to truly walk, but gives them security.
I wondered why they chose Dolly and love the story. I think it is so nice to know that your name means something, was special to those who chose it and, perhaps, gives you some connection to other people (in this case, Dolly Parton). And, it is so nice that the namesake was flattered.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
It is so sweet that Rebecca honored Dolly like that.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I thought I would never use a walker- not because they’re dangerous, just because I’m a bit of a Montessorian and it’s just not recommended for infants. However, it’s one of the things I let my (Montessori teacher) mom talk me into. My first loved it and my second- 4 months- loves it as well! I don’t see how it’s dangerous unless stairs are involve and my sons can’t get it out of our kitchen (no stairs). Canada is silly to ban them. They’re like any other device- use them while being monitored by an adult.
October 6th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
I absolutly love the names dolly and Charlie I love the name charlie for a girl
October 6th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
They probably decided to name the baby with blonde hair Dolly because Dolly Parton is blonde herself. It’s a guess!
October 7th, 2009 at 12:01 am
How sweet!!! I think that is such a cute story! I am also surprised at how the name Dolly has actually grown on me. It’s really quite cute and girly.
I love what she said about adult sized walkers…that cracked me up!!!
October 7th, 2009 at 12:28 am
An adult-sized walker…can you imagine. It would be like a hammock with wheels. Watch a little TV, roll to the kitchen for some soda, roll back to the desk to check your email, roll out to check the mail. Hmmm…I think I might need to get some investors and come up with a prototype.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I love this couple and their kids!! Now I know where the name Dolly
came from but I was wondering why they picked Charlie? I think that is a cool girls name 
October 7th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Water should be banned because children could drown in it. Air should be banned because it is polluted. Visits to Wal-Mart should be banned because the cashier or door greeter could possibly be an alcoholic. Don’t drive your children around in a car because an 18-wheeler could plow into you. Grow up people! This was a sweet story about the naming of a child & all you took out of it is….”WALKERS ARE DANGEROUS!” Get real. I get so sick of all these Dr. Spock wannabes criticizing how children should be raised.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
When I read the walker thing, I was assuming she was talking about the walker things you walk behind, or even ride on.
October 7th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
@Riley. Charlie is Jerry’s brother.
October 7th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Im not a fan of the name DOLLY but, that little girl has a wonderful namsake person to look up 2 when she is older. And so does baby Charlie her uncle Charlie seems wonderful.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
LOL, at the walker comments. Someone’s always gotta criticize, don’t they?
October 10th, 2009 at 7:00 am
I don’t even know what a walker is lol Maybe it’s because I’m Canadian but I’m pretty sure I had one when I was a kid and well my grandmother wasn’t an idiot and baby gated the stairs.
Rebecca, I hate nitpicking about comments and I usually don’t do it but I’m sure the walmart greeters and cashiers of the world would be offended that you believe they are examples of what an alcoholic would/could be. And why does everyone with kids need a car? Bus works just as well.
October 10th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Shawna Walkers are not dangerous if used correctly u arent going to leave ur infant in one for hours unsupervised people get real. I would definatley buy one for my child, kids just lov them its helps them move around before they are actually able to walk by them selves also kids look cute in them.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:01 am
I wonder if Dolly Parton will give $ for her namesake to go to college. Cute story.