Singer-songwriter Dolly Parton, whose music and message inspired millions, died on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Her nephew Bryan Seaver posted a video on social media on behalf of the family to announce her passing and share that she died peacefully in Nashville. She was 80 years old.

Parton had cancelled multiple appearances over the last year due to her health. She had issued statements that the issues were due to dehydration, dizziness, and kidney stones. Parton also explained that she had neglected her own health while caring for her late husband, Carl Dean.

She was a Grammy winning singer and songwriter recognized for her distinctive voice and emotional depth of her lyrics. The country music star had a seven-decade career that also included acting, producing, as an entrepreneur and a philanthropist.

Becoming a Star

Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, and grew up in rural Appalachia as one of 12 siblings. She learned about music at a young age from her mother who sang and played guitar, and from church. Parton started writing songs and playing guitar, and was performing professionally by the age of 10. Three years later she debuted on the Grand Ole Opry and moved to Nashville as soon as she graduated high school.

In the late 1960s she performed with Porter Wagoner as a singing duo, which helped get her a contract with RCA. Her first No. 1 hit was “Joshua” in 1971, soon followed by the No. 1 songs “Jolene” in ’73 and “I Will Always Love You” in ’74. Parton was always savvy about her music, going back to the early days of her career. She protected the publishing rights to her songs giving her control over the music and the royalties. Elvis Presley wanted to cover “I Will Always Love You” but when his manager insisted that Parton would have to sign over half the publishing rights to the song, she refused the deal.

Additional popular country tracks followed like “Love is Like a Butterfly,” “The Seeker,” and “All I Can Do,” earning Parton the Country Music Award for Female Vocalist in ’75 and ’76. “Here You Come Again” became her first country-pop crossover hit and earned Parton her first Grammy Award. She followed it up with emotional songs like “It’s All Wrong, But It’s Alright,” “Heartbreaker,” and “Starting Over Again,” each of which reached No. 1 on country charts.

In ’83, she and Kenny Rogers released the duet “Islands in the Stream,” then a few years later she collaborated with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt on the album, Trio. Parton worked with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette on Honky Tonk Angels in the early ‘90s. Then she released The Grass is Blue and Little Sparrow a few years later. In 2008, she released Backwoods Barbie and 12 years later she dropped A Holly Doll Christmas. Then in 2023 she released her first rock album, Rockstar, and a year later she released Smoky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith & Fables.

Actor, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist

Parton added actor to her résumé in 1980, starring in the workplace comedy 9 to 5 with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. She wrote the soundtrack’s title song, which became another No. 1 hit, and it earned her two Grammys and an Academy Award nomination. Two years later, Parton starred in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with Burt Reynolds. Then she played a country singer opposite Sylvester Stallone in the musical Rhinestone. Parton starred in Steel Magnolias, a tearjerker filled with Southern charm that also starred Sally Field and Julia Roberts. She has also been in Straight Talk, Unlikely Angel, Frank McKlusky, Joyful Noise, and TV Christmas movies like Christmas on the Square.

In 1986, Parton continued to grow her brand by opening Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee near her hometown. She was also co-owner of the Dollywood Company that owns and operates multiple entertainment venues, resorts, and parks.

Parton created The Dollywood Foundation to encourage people from her home town to read and pursue education. The Foundation offered college scholarships to kids who went to local high schools in and around Sevier County, Tennessee. That grew into the Imagination Library, which has donated over 300 million books to children. She donated $1 million for COVID-19 research, and routinely donated money to families in need after tragedies like wildfires and hurricanes.

Throughout her career, Parton won 10 Grammys and was nominated for two Academy Awards. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.