DOLLY Parton, the beloved country music icon whose soaring soprano, heartfelt songwriting and dazzling stage presence captivated the world for more than six decades, has died at the age of 80.
The singer passed away peacefully on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a statement released by her public relations team.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, confirmed the news in an emotional video posted on her Instagram account, fulfilling a request the star had made of him years earlier.
“A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family,” the statement read.
Parton had largely retreated from public view over the past year following unspecified health challenges that forced her to cancel a planned Las Vegas residency. In May 2026, she revealed she had been undergoing treatment for kidney stones for several years, explaining that her immune and digestive systems had become “all out of whack”.
Her death came just 17 months after the passing of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean, who died in March 2025 at the age of 82 . The couple married in 1966, and Dean famously shunned the spotlight throughout their decades together, happily ceding the stage to his world-famous wife.
From Dirt-Poor Beginnings To Global Stardom
Born Dolly Rebecca Parton on January 19, 1946, in Pittman Center, Tennessee, she was the fourth of 12 children raised in a one-room cabin on a rundown farm in the Smoky Mountains . Her father, Robert Lee Parton, was a tobacco farmer who could not read or write, while her mother, Avie Lee, filled the home with traditional Appalachian folk songs that would profoundly shape her daughter’s musical sensibilities.
“I loved that little doll,” Parton later wrote of “Little Tiny Tasseltop,” the first song she composed at age six for a corncob doll with corn-silk hair. “I expressed myself and my feelings through writing”.
Her life changed when her uncle Bill Owens gave her a guitar at age seven . By ten, she was performing on local radio and television, and at thirteen, she made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, introduced by Johnny Cash.
A Songwriting Force And Pop Culture Phenomenon
Parton’s career truly took off after she teamed up with Porter Wagoner in 1967, joining his television show and launching a string of duet hits . But it was her solo songwriting that cemented her legacy. She penned “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” on the same day in 1973 – the latter written as a farewell to Wagoner when she decided to strike out on her own.
“I just wasn’t going to take somebody else’s idea of who I was and live under their roof,” she later told Martha Stewart. “I had my own identity, and I had to fight to keep it – and I’m still doing that”.
“I Will Always Love You” topped the country charts twice for Parton before Whitney Houston’s iconic 1992 cover became one of the best-selling songs by a female artist of all time . Parton famously turned down Elvis Presley’s request to record the song because his manager demanded she surrender half her publishing royalties.
With more than 100 million records sold worldwide and over 3,000 songs to her name, Parton earned 11 Grammy awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award . She was named the top country artist of all time by Billboard in 2024.
Beyond music, she starred in films including 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Steel Magnolias, and built a business empire that included the Dollywood theme park in her native Tennessee.
Philanthropy And A Legacy Of Kindness
Parton’s generosity matched her talent. Through her Imagination Library, founded in 1995 in honour of her father, she provided nearly 308 million free books to children across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia . During the COVID-19 pandemic, she donated $1 million to vaccine research at Vanderbilt University, becoming an early sponsor of Moderna’s development efforts.
When wildfires ravaged the Great Smoky Mountains in 2016, she created a fund that provided monthly support to hundreds of affected families . In 2022, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez honoured her with a $100 million Courage and Civility Award for her charitable work.
Never shy about her Christian faith, Parton was also a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community. “I keep saying: If you’re the fine Christian that you think you are, why are you judging people?” she told Larry King in 2017. “That’s God’s job”.
‘A Force Of Nature’
“No-one did it like Dolly,” wrote the BBC’s music correspondent, capturing the sentiment felt by fans and fellow artists alike . She was, as her own statement declared, a woman whose legacy would forever be “one of love, compassion, and resilience”.
Parton is survived by her siblings and extended family. At her request, a small private service will be held, with fans encouraged to make donations in lieu of flowers to her Imagination Library.
“Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years,” Parton said of her husband in July 2025 . The same might be said of the love her fans held for her – and the timeless music she leaves behind.
