Dolly Parton, legendary country music superstar, dead at 80

Dolly Parton — the beloved, award-winning icon of American state euphony — has died. She was 80. 

Parton's nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced the news on her Instagram connected August 25.

"My sanction is Bryan Seaver, boy of Cassie Parton, and I'm representing the Parton and Owens family coming announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean. Sister, Sis, and Granny to 1 procreation and Gigi to the next," Seaver says successful the video. "This video announcement is thing Dolly asked of maine years ago, earlier I afloat absorbed it arsenic a early reality. As her caput of information for much than 2 decades, a domiciled my begetter Larry held earlier me, I person imagined the heaviness of this infinitesimal but haven't genuinely felt it til now."

No origin of decease was given. Parton had suffered declining wellness successful caller years, prompting her to stock a video past autumn successful which she proclaimed, "I ain't dormant yet."

On Aug. 21, Parton shared a health update pinch People, telling the mag she was dealing pinch immoderate "health issues."

"You know, this isn't the first clip I've had to negociate thing for illustration this. Back successful the early '80s, I was down for respective months pinch female issues, and I was struggling pinch my weight astatine the clip too, truthful it's not for illustration I haven't been done difficult times pinch my health."

She added, "Even though I'm still healin', I'm still workin'! You cognize maine — arsenic I've often said — I've dreamed myself into a area and I still person truthful galore things I want to achieve, truthful I'm gonna support connected moving arsenic agelong arsenic I tin to spot everything travel to life."

The legendary singer-songwriter, famed for her towering hairsbreadth and razor-sharp wit, topped the Billboard state euphony charts pinch 25 of her songs and won 11 Grammys, 10 Country Music Association Awards, and 4 People's Choice Awards.

She besides holds a spot successful the Country Music Hall of Fame successful Nashville and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Throughout her life, Parton became a successful businesswoman, actor, philanthropist, and moreover theme-park proprietor arsenic she roseate to superstardom not conscionable arsenic a state creator but besides arsenic a humanitarian and LGBTQ+ advocate.

Parton began giving unrecorded performances astatine property 6

Parton was calved successful 1946 successful a one-room compartment successful Pittman Center, Tennessee. She was the 4th of 12 kids and grew up to the sound of Smoky Mountain folklore sung by her mother, Avie Lee Parton. 

She often credited her mother and aunt for her philharmonic abilities and her father, Robert Lee Parton, for her business savvy, which she wrote astir successful her book "Songteller: My Life successful Lyrics." Parton described her family arsenic being "dirt poor" successful a CNN question and reply successful 2002. 

"Although we had nary money, I was rich | arsenic I could be," Parton would singing successful her deed opus "Coat of Many Colors," inspired by a overgarment her mother erstwhile made from scraps of fabric.

Parton began singing successful her religion astatine property 6. She taught herself really to play guitar connected a homemade type of the instrumentality astatine 7 and sewage her first existent guitar by 8.

Public performances continued passim Parton's childhood, culminating successful a unrecorded show astatine the Grand Ole Opry astatine the property of 13, wherever she met Johnny Cash for the first time. 

Parton moved to Nashville the time aft she graduated from precocious schoolhouse successful 1964. On her very first day, she met a young man named Carl Dean astatine a laundromat. Parton told The New York Times successful 1976 that Dean asked her retired connected a day and she declined, but she invited him to travel by while she babysat her nephew.

"He came up each time that week, and we sat retired connected the porch. I wouldn't moreover return him successful the house," she recalled. "Then my aunt sewage a time disconnected and she could support the kid, and that was my first chance to spell anyplace pinch Carl, and he drove maine consecutive to his folks' location and introduced maine to his mother and daddy. 'Cause he said he knew correct the infinitesimal he saw maine that that's the 1 he wanted."

Two years later, they were married.

Parton's stint connected 'The Porter Wagoner Show' changeable her to stardom

Parton quickly signed pinch Combine Publishing and teamed up pinch her uncle — state vocalist and songwriter Bill Owens — to nutrient aggregate chart-topping singles.

Her profession really took disconnected successful the precocious 1960s, erstwhile Parton joined "The Porter Wagoner Show." The collaboration led to six years of chart-topping singles pinch Wagoner, who convinced RCA Victor to motion Parton successful 1967.

Parton yet deed the apical of the charts arsenic a solo creator pinch her azygous "Joshua" successful 1971. Her occurrence continued pinch songs for illustration "Coat of Many Colors" and "Touch Your Woman."

In 1973, Parton earned 1 of the biggest hits of her profession pinch the opus "Jolene," inspired by a slope teller who had a crush connected her husband.

Parton penned the opus the aforesaid nighttime she wrote "I Will Always Love You," which became a mega-hit erstwhile Whitney Houston covered it for the soundtrack to the 1992 movie "The Bodyguard."

"When I wrote those songs, I retrieve conscionable sitting successful the area of this sofa by this fireplace that was successful the first location that Carl and I ever owned," Parton told Business Insider successful 2022. "There was conscionable thing astir that fireplace, the coziness, and that corner. The 1 area of the sofa wherever I was ever sitting pinch my feet up, penning and singing my songs."

Parton tried her manus astatine the world of popular music 

In 1976, Parton began moving pinch Sandy Gallin, who would beryllium her head for 25 years. With Gallin, Parton self-produced "New Harvest...First Gathering" successful 1977. It was the first clip she had experimented pinch popular hits, but the medium ne'er near the state charts. 

Her adjacent album, "Here You Come Again," released successful 1977, became the first of Parton's solo albums to waste much than 1 cardinal copies and led her to her first azygous connected the popular charts. Parton continued connected the way of pop-crossover success, winning a Grammy Award for champion female state vocal capacity successful 1978. 

Throughout the precocious 1970s and 1980s, Parton released deed singles "Baby I'm Burning," "Islands successful the Stream," and "9 to 5," which coincided pinch Parton's prima move arsenic a moving female trying to return down her sexist leader successful the 1980 deed drama alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

"9 to 5" became Parton's first opus to go a triple No. 1 hit, taking the starring spot successful the country, pop, and big modern charts. During this time, she had 12 top-ten hits, six of which went No. 1. 

In 1977, Parton met Queen Elizabeth II aft performing astatine the Silver Jubilee.

"I was frightened to decease that I was not going to cognize really to curtsy, that I wasn't going to crook right, but she was conscionable very warm, very sweet, and I could show she was a very giving person," Parton recalled during a 2022 question and reply pinch Business Insider. "And conscionable gathering the Queen of England, conscionable to meet a queen, it was amazing."

Parton returned to her roots arsenic a state euphony icon 

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Parton released a wide array of music, ranging from state to popular to bluegrass, solidifying her position arsenic 1 of the top state euphony artists of each time. 

She became a songwriting staple successful Hollywood, pinch galore of her 2000s releases accompanying movies, TV shows, aliases Broadway shows. She besides teamed up pinch stars specified arsenic Brad Paisley and Beyoncé to merchandise caller music. 

In 2014, Parton released "Blue Smoke," which became her first top-10 medium and her highest-ranking solo medium ever. 

Parton's first vacation album, "A Holly Dolly Christmas," was released successful October 2020 and was accompanied by a CBS Christmas typical of the aforesaid name. 

Parton was much than a singer-songwriter 

In 2009, Parton released "9 to 5: The Musical" connected Broadway, a unrecorded adjustment of the 1980 film, scored by her famed album. Though the show was not a hit, it earned her a Tony information for champion original score. 

Parton besides poured overmuch of her net into her ain business ventures, put connected by The Dollywood Company. Most notably, she opened the Dollywood taxable park successful Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. She focused overmuch of her business adjacent her hometown, opening a meal theater, a h2o park, and a spa each successful Pigeon Forge.

An avid navigator who loved whipping up Southern cuisine, Parton besides released 2 cookbooks, including "Good Lookin' Cookin'," which she wrote pinch her sister Rachel Parton George.

Parton started Sandollar Productions pinch Gallin, which went connected to nutrient a number of films and TV shows, including "Father of the Bride" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." She besides appeared connected the different broadside of the camera, acting connected shows specified arsenic "Reba," "The Simpsons," and "Hannah Montana."

A tireless multi-hyphenate, Parton told Business Insider successful 2022 that she often started her time astatine 3 a.m.

"I do immoderate of my champion activity there, but I get capable sleep," she added. "I don't require arsenic overmuch slumber arsenic a batch of different group do, that's benignant of a Parton family trait."

"Dolly Parton's Heartstrings," an eight-part docuseries astir Parton's life, aired connected Netflix successful 2019 and became the taxable of the NPR podcast "Dolly Parton's America." 

A mother fig and philanthropist to many 

Parton and Carl Dean ne'er had children owed to Parton's struggle pinch endometriosis. Instead, the mates helped to raise her younger siblings.

Carl Dean died successful March 2025 astatine the property of 82. He and Parton had been joined for astir 59 years.

Parton was besides the godmother to pop prima Miley Cyrus. She told Business Insider successful 2023 that she hoped Cyrus would play her successful a biopic someday.

"I emotion the truth that she's brave capable to do immoderate she feels for illustration doing," Parton said of her goddaughter astatine the time.

Through the Dollywood Foundation, Parton was an progressive philanthropist for astir of her career. She chiefly focused connected literacy, launching Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which mails 1 book per period to each enrolled child. 

She was besides known to beryllium an outspoken advocator for the American Red Cross and respective HIV/AIDS charities. For her philanthropic efforts, she won awards, including the Association of American Publishers Honors Award for her activity successful literacy. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Parton donated $1 cardinal toward investigation astatine Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which funded the early stages of the creation of the Moderna vaccine. 

She besides became a queer icon, often advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and equality. In an question and reply pinch Larry King successful 2016, Parton said, "I do not judge that we should knock and judge different people. I deliberation we should beryllium accepting and loving. We are each God's children, we are who we are, and we should beryllium allowed to beryllium who we are."

In her past question and reply pinch Business Insider successful 2023, Parton said she wasn't acrophobic of getting older.

"The measurement I live, the measurement I work, the measurement I feel, I'm going to make each infinitesimal count," Parton said. "I whitethorn unrecorded to beryllium 100 aliases I whitethorn dice tomorrow, but whenever that is, I will cognize I died trying, and I will cognize I've done everything I could to make the astir of everything."