Country legend Dolly Parton dead at 80
By Easton Martin | August 25, 2026
Dolly Parton, the country music legend whose career spanned more than six decades, died Tuesday at the age of 80 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death Tuesday in a video shared through Parton’s social media accounts. Her family said she died peacefully. No official cause of death has been released.
The news comes just days after Parton publicly acknowledged that she had been dealing with health problems. In an Aug. 21 statement, she said she had been dealing with health issues that she had not given enough attention to while caring for her husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025.
Parton remained remarkably active until near the end of her life. She continued working on music and other projects while maintaining the businesses and charitable organizations she had built over decades.
Born in rural Tennessee in 1946, Parton moved to Nashville after high school and became one of the most successful singer-songwriters in American history. Her hits included “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You,” which became an international hit after Whitney Houston recorded it for The Bodyguard.
Parton also found success in Hollywood with films including 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias. She later became a major businesswoman and philanthropist, most notably through Dollywood and her Imagination Library.
Parton accumulated major honors throughout her career, including multiple Grammy Awards and inductions into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
