Dolly Parton, the country music legend behind songs such as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You,” has passed away at 80.
Parton died peacefully in Nashville on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, according to her publicist. A cause of death was not disclosed. Her nephew Bryan Seaver announced her death on behalf of the Parton and Owens family. “She never saw a door she couldn’t open,” he said, adding that the doors she opened “made and changed history.”
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born January 19, 1946, in Pittman Center, Tennessee. One of 12 children, she grew up in a one-room cabin in nearby Locust Ridge. Her father, Robert Lee Parton, was a tobacco farmer, while her mother, Avie Lee, often sang traditional songs around the house. Parton began writing music when she was a child. One of her earliest songs was about a doll made from a corncob, which her mother kept in a shoebox. She received her first guitar when she was eight, began singing on local radio by 11 and performed at the Grand Ole Opry when she was just 13.
After graduating from high school, she moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. She soon began working with country singer Porter Wagoner, appearing on his television show and recording a string of successful duets with him. When Parton decided to leave Wagoner and focus on her solo career, she wrote “I Will Always Love You” as a farewell. The song became one of her biggest hits and found a new audience years later when Whitney Houston recorded it for the 1992 film The Bodyguard.
Parton famously turned down Elvis Presley’s request to record the song because his manager wanted her to give up half of its publishing rights. Keeping ownership proved to be one of the most important business decisions of her career.
Over the years, Parton wrote an estimated 3,000 songs and sold more than 100 million records. Twenty-five of her songs reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart, and her work was recorded by artists ranging from Houston and Miley Cyrus to Beyoncé and The White Stripes.
She received numerous honors throughout her career, including Grammy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award. 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. Parton also had a successful acting career. She made her film debut alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the 1980 comedy 9 to 5. The movie’s title song earned her an Academy Award nomination.
She later appeared in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone and Steel Magnolias. She received a second Oscar nomination for “Travelin’ Thru,” which she wrote for the 2005 film Transamerica.
Outside of music and acting, Parton was a successful businesswoman. In 1986, she became part-owner of a Tennessee amusement park that was renamed Dollywood. It grew into one of the state’s best-known tourist attractions. She was also known for giving back. Parton started the Imagination Library in 1995 to send free books to young children. The program was inspired by her father, who could not read or write, and eventually expanded beyond the United States to other countries, including Canada.
Parton had been dealing with health problems in the months leading up to her death. She postponed several appearances, including a Las Vegas residency, but continued to tell fans that she was responding to treatment and planned to return to work. Her death came more than a year after her husband, Carl Dean, died in March 2025 at the age of 82. The couple married in 1966 and were together for nearly 60 years. Dean stayed out of the public eye throughout their marriage, rarely joining his wife at industry events.
Tributes quickly began pouring in after Parton’s death was announced. Reba McEntire thanked her longtime friend for everything she had given through her music and generosity.
“There will never ever be another you,” McEntire wrote. “I will always love you.”
Dionne Warwick, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kelly Clarkson, George Strait, Octavia Spencer and many others also shared messages remembering Parton.
Despite her many awards, films and business ventures, Parton said she most wanted to be remembered for her writing.
“The songs are my legacy,” she once wrote.
Parton is survived by members of her large extended family. ~Chidera Arimah
Those tits.