Dolly Parton has died at 80. Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death on social media on Tuesday (Aug. 25), and Pitchfork reports that she died after a brief battle with cancer. Her publicist confirmed that a small, private service will be held for immediate family.
Dolly opened the door for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent.
Bryan Seaver, on social media, Pitchfork
The news came four days after Parton had spoken publicly about her health. In an interview published by People on Friday (Aug. 21), she said she was “dealing with some health issues,” and that she was in early talks about “avatar performances.” Her closing line, per Billboard, now reads very differently: “I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’.”
The tributes
The first wave came from the people who worked with her. Beyoncé, who put Parton on the Cowboy Carter interlude “Dolly P.” and rewrote “Jolene” for the same album, posted a written message on her website. Complex has the full note.
Dolly, you were the barometer. The north star. Bold and brilliant.
Beyoncé, in a message on her website, Complex
Eminem shared a handwritten note Parton sent him after his 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. Of the two of them, he wrote, “Even for a kid who mostly listened to rap music, she was an icon. A superstar in every sense. Rest easy Dolly.”
Why it matters
Parton's songs are the backbone of modern country, and her reach goes past it. She wrote “I Will Always Love You” in 1974 after leaving The Porter Wagoner Show, and then turned down Elvis Presley's request for half the publishing, which is why she still owned the song when Whitney Houston made it a global smash in 1992. She had 25 country No. 1s, the most for a woman, and her Imagination Library has given away more than 300 million free books, according to Pitchfork. She was also the real-life godmother of Miley Cyrus, and played an aunt to Cyrus's pop star on Hannah Montana.
Read moreMiley Cyrus Is Now Just Miley, With a New Album and Two Hollywood Bowl Nights
One more piece of music is still to come. Per her wishes, her final song, “My Place in History,” will be released on Jan. 19, 2046, which would have been her 100th birthday. For now it sits locked in a box at Dollywood.
What's next: producers have confirmed that Dolly: A True Original Musical will go ahead on Broadway, with previews starting Dec. 7 at the St. James Theatre and an opening night set for what would have been her 81st birthday. Her name is also headed to Nashville's airport, which approved the change weeks later, and she is on the closing track of U2's next album.
- Died
- Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, aged 80
- Born
- Jan. 19, 1946, Pittman Center, Tennessee
- Country No. 1s
- 25, the most for a woman
- Final song
- “My Place in History,” due Jan. 19, 2046
Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.
