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Dolly Parton died Tuesday morning in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80. Her nephew Bryan Seaver announced her death in a video posted to her social media accounts. No cause of death was given. The family said she died peacefully.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said in his announcement that Dolly had asked him years ago to deliver this news when the time came. He said sadness lies with those left behind, not with Dolly herself, and that she has lived in the light.
A small, private family service will be held. The family has asked friends and fans to pay tribute on social media. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Her Health in Recent Months
Parton had been open about her health struggles throughout 2026. She told People magazine earlier this month that she had been dealing with health issues she neglected while caring for her late husband Carl Thomas Dean in the final months of his life. Dean died on March 3, 2025, at age 82, after nearly 58 years of marriage.
Just last week, she skipped the grand opening of Dollywood’s new NightFlight Expedition roller coaster in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Her doctor told her not to travel due to dizziness and dehydration. She sent a video message to the crowd instead.
Her Life and Legacy
Born Dolly Rebecca Parton on January 19, 1946, she grew up in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Pittman Center, Tennessee. She described her childhood as dirt poor but spiritually rich.
By the time of her death, Parton was credited with composing more than 3,000 songs, including enduring standards Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, 9 to 5, and I Will Always Love You. She sold well over 100 million records worldwide. Her career spanned seven decades and touched virtually every corner of American music and culture.
Beyond music, she founded the Imagination Library in 1995, a program that has mailed free books to millions of children around the world. She funded research for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice before accepting it in 2022, saying she did not feel she had earned it yet.
She is preceded in death by her husband Carl, her mother Avie Lee Caroline Owens, and her father Robert Lee Parton Sr.
Source: TMZ, The Wrap, WGN TV, The Music Universe, KVIA, KLTV
