Miranda Lambert Reveals Who She'd Want to Play on 'Yellowstone' (Exclusive)

We know the characters on Yellowstone love Miranda Lambert (have you spotted that throwback poster in the cowboys' bunkhouse?). And it turns out, the feeling is mutual!

Lambert sat down with ET's Rachel Smith recently to dish all about her Las Vegas residency, husband Brendan McLoughlin, and her new role as an ambassador for Lone River Ranch Water. But of course, we had to ask about that sly Yellowstone cameo, after eagle-eyed fans caught a glimpse of what the country star refers to as her "baby poster" on the show's set.

"I was like, 19 in that picture!" she shared. But her connection to the popular franchise goes even deeper than that.

"I actually was at a thing in Texas, [Yellowstone creator] Taylor Sheridan got a Texas Medal of Arts and I did as well," she said of a recent event. "So we got to talk about, you know, this lifestyle... I was pushing my songs for the show. I was like, 'I have some tunes, man, here they are!'"

So, would she ever be interested in making an appearance on the series, or one of its spin-offs?

"I've never been an actress. It's not my favorite thing," Lambert demurred. The singer made her acting debut on an episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in 2012, mainly because she was a huge fan of the show.

"I've done one thing and it was probably the one," she added with a laugh. "I'm not saying I won't ever do it again. But if I can play myself... that's a little bit easier on me."

For now, Lambert plans to stick to her more comfortable lanes. She's currently headlining her Velvet Rodeo residency at Caesars in Las Vegas, and writing new music -- though not for herself! 

"I really enjoy getting in rooms with other artists and sort of getting in their heads, because I've been the artist in the room for so many years with amazing writers," she explained of why she's been content to let her own new music take a back seat for the moment. "Getting to sort of get in someone else's creative space and find what they're looking for, it's been really fun."

It's even led to a career-first for Lambert -- the singer recently just celebrated her first No. 1 single as solely a songwriter -- for Morgan Wallen's "Thought You Should Know."

"I've written some number ones that I was the performer, but I never had a number one solo as a writer," she marveled. "So I was really proud of that. And it's a song about his mama, which I love."

Between music, writing, her Wanda June housewares line, her Idyllwind clothing and lifestyle brand, her MuttNation animal rescue foundation, bars, restaurants and an upcoming cookbook, Lambert has more than enough on her plate these days. That's why, she said, she's so grateful for the support she has in McLoughlin, with whom she tied the knot with in January 2019.

"We balance each other really well," she said of her husband. "I love that he's supportive and kind and also calls me on my sh*t."

"I can play him a new song or tell him about a new partnership, and he's just all about it, and really happy for me and really supportive," she added. "He retired from the police department a couple years ago, and he's been able to travel with me because of that. So for him to just kind of jump and run when we got to go to Austin, go to work, we do some fun, and we do some work and he's just always down for whatever and always lights up a room. He's a very happy person and it gives happy energy to the space around him." 

Lambert's newest venture with Lone River is yet another thing that's right up her alley. Ranch water is a Texas-favorite cocktail, made with tequila, lime and Topo Chico, and the brand cans theirs in flavors like original, spicy, red grapefruit and prickly pear.

"It's so cool and it's authentic and it's delicious," the singer said of the brand. "It's female-founded, which I love, and it's inspired by West Texas, which I also love... [Their brand] is the same as mine. It's sort of female on the forefront and really being authentic and being who you are and being proudly Texan."

Lone River founder and CEO Katie Beal Brown, said she knew Lambert would be a perfect fit for the brand when the singer released her 2021 album, The Marfa Tapes. There was a serendipitous connection, Brown explained, because Marfa, Texas, is also the location of her own family's ranch.

"I think this is just, you know, such a natural fit," she shared. "It means so much to have somebody like Miranda represent something that's so close to our heart."

"In the business that I'm in, there's not a lot of other female founders," Brown continued. "I've really had to kind of pioneer my own path. And so I've looked to other industries, especially country music and a lot of the powerhouse women as inspiration... It's just been such a blessing to get to meet these people and get their advice, because it's not an easy road."

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