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Dolly Parton, the country music icon behind classics including “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You,” has died. She was 80.
Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death Tuesday, August 25, in a video shared through the singer’s official Instagram account.
Her family remembered Parton not only for the music that made her one of the most recognizable entertainers in the world, but also for the personality and generosity that defined her life away from the stage.
“A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see,” her family said while describing the lasting impact of her music, songwriting, humor, warmth and kindness.
A cause of death has not been publicly announced.
Dolly Parton’s Family Announces Her Death at 80
Parton’s death comes a little more than a year after the passing of her husband, Carl Thomas Dean.
The famously private couple were married for nearly six decades before Dean died in March 2025 at 82. Parton later honored him with the song “If You Hadn’t Been There.”
In the days leading up to her death, Parton had also spoken publicly about ongoing health issues.
She said she had neglected some of her own health concerns while caring for Dean and acknowledged dealing with dizziness, dehydration and other medical challenges.
Still, Parton remained focused on working and future projects, telling PEOPLE only days before her death that she still had “so many things” she wanted to accomplish.
Her recent health issues have not been officially identified as the cause of her death.
Dolly Parton Built One of Music’s Most Legendary Careers
Born in Tennessee in 1946 as one of 12 children, Parton grew up in poverty before turning her songwriting ability into one of the most successful careers in country music history.
She moved to Nashville after graduating high school and eventually found her breakthrough alongside Porter Wagoner.
Parton later established herself as a solo superstar with records including “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “Here You Come Again,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You.”
She originally wrote and recorded “I Will Always Love You” as a farewell to Wagoner before Whitney Houston transformed the song into an international phenomenon with her 1992 version for “The Bodyguard.”
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Parton’s own catalogue helped make her the best-selling female country artist of all time, with more than 160 million albums reportedly sold worldwide.
Dolly Parton Found Success Far Beyond Country Music
Parton’s career stretched well beyond recording studios.
She starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the 1980 comedy “9 to 5,” with its title track becoming her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
She later appeared in movies including “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” “Rhinestone,” “Steel Magnolias” and “Joyful Noise.”
Over her decades-long career, Parton earned 11 Grammy Awards, an Emmy, multiple CMA and ACM Awards and two Academy Award nominations.
She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Became Part of Her Legacy
Parton’s influence also extended far beyond entertainment.
She launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 1995 after being inspired by her father, who never learned to read or write.
The program provides free books to young children and eventually expanded across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland.
By June 2026, the Imagination Library had distributed more than 325 million books and was sending out more than 3.5 million books every month.
The program became one of the clearest examples of how Parton used the fortune and influence created by her music career to give back.
Dolly Parton Leaves Behind a Lasting Legacy
Even at 80, Parton was still developing new projects.
Plans were underway to bring “DOLLY: A True Original Musical,” a stage production inspired by her life, to Broadway, while she remained involved in projects connected to Dollywood, new business ventures and her extensive music catalogue.
Her family’s announcement brings an end to a career that stretched more than six decades and transformed Parton from a young songwriter from East Tennessee into one of the most recognizable figures in American entertainment.
She is preceded in death by her husband Carl Dean, as well as her parents, Avie Lee Caroline Owens and Robert Lee Parton Sr.