Dolly Parton’s team has revealed the musical icon died after a short battle with cancer.
Parton’s death at the age of 80 was announced on Tuesday. In a statement to People, her representatives said she died following a “brief battle with cancer,” but did not disclose the type.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
The family highlighted Parton’s charitable endeavors, including “the hundreds of millions of books” she donated to children through her “invaluable” Imagination Library program, which sent free books to kids from birth through school. Her family also referenced her $1 million donation to fund research into the Moderna vaccine in 2020. “Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact,” they wrote.
The statement continued, “After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver initially announced the musician’s death, saying she died “peacefully” on Tuesday.
She had been admitted to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville last Friday, according to People. Parton herself revealed to fans earlier this month that she had “been through hard times with my health,” which included issues with her GI tract and kidney stones.
Her website states that a “small, private service” will be held for immediate family, who have asked fans to make donations to the Imagination Library in lieu of flowers. The program mails free books to children until they begin school.
Her health decline followed the death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, in March 2025. Last October, Parton admitted Dean was sick a “long time,” during which time she noted, “I didn’t take care of myself.” The cause of Dean’s death has not been publicly revealed.
Parton canceled her Las Vegas residency dates in May because of ongoing health issues, after previously rescheduling them to September 2026.
In an Instagram video to announce the news at the time, Parton said that the meds and treatments were making her “swimmy-headed” and she can’t be “dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars and such on 5 inch heels”.
The “Jolene” hitmaker also cancelled an event at Dollywood last September, and revealed she was suffering from kidney stones. “I had a little problem. I had a kidney stone,” Parton said in a video message at the time, adding “turns out there was an infection.” She previously had kidney stones removed in 2015.
Last October, after the Vegas shows were postponed, Parton’s sister, Freida, caused global panic with a Facebook post where she begged fans to pray for the musician, claiming that her sister “hasn’t been feeling her best lately,” before requesting fans to keep Dolly in their prayers. “And with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine.”
That message prompted Dolly to post her own message a day later, which was captioned, “I ain’t dead yet.”
Parton’s musical memoir, DOLLY: A True Original Musical, is due to debut at the St. James Theater in Manhattan on Jan. 19, which would have been the singer’s 81st birthday.
Parton had already been preparing how her music would be heard in the future.
In 2022, she revealed a secret song had been locked in a time capsule at her Dollywood resort in Tennessee, to be released in 2045, to celebrate her 100th birthday.
Appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show, she regretted hiding the song, stating, “You have no idea how that has bothered me. I wanna go dig that up so bad. It’s a really good song!”
Talking about the song likely not being released until after her death, she said in 2022, “I might be here, I might not be.”
The 2020 NPR podcast Dolly Parton’s America also saw the singer reveal she had already planned for the posthumous unheard music.
“I’m one of those people that believe in being prepared. I don’t want to ever leave my stuff in the same shape like Prince or Aretha [Franklin], or anybody that don’t plan ahead with that,” she said on the acclaimed podcast.
Admitting she had “hundreds” of songs that haven’t been released, Parton said “There’s enough stuff to go on forever with my music: to do compilation albums, to do, actually, new and original stuff, and I am purposely trying to put songs down for that very purpose... So I think ahead.”
She added, “For me, as far as what I hope my music will be left behind, I hope that it will always live. I would like to think that I’ve left some good pieces of music.”
In the same episode, she also shared her thoughts on the afterlife.
“You don’t really know, you just hope, and you have faith. That’s what faith is,” Parton said.
“I think it’s not the end of me. I don’t think it’s the end of any of us. I think we’re recycled and if nothing else we just go back into that great flow of divine energy and hopefully we spread ourselves around in other wonderful ways.”
