Country music legend Dolly Parton dies at 80 after ‘brief battle with cancer’

Dolly Parton, the beloved country music superstar known as much for her philanthropy and theme park business as she was for her chart-topping hit songs, has died at 80.

Parton’s death on Tuesday was announced by her publicist, who said the singer “died peacefully” in Nashville. No cause of death was initially provided, but a later statement provided by her publicist said Parton died at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones after “bravely facing a brief battle with cancer.”

A small private service will be held for immediate family, the publicist said.

“Dolly Parton: An American Original – A Special Edition of 20/20” airs Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

“As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures,” Parton wrote on Instagram in September 2025, though she never specified the nature of her health issues. Nearly six months later, at the seasonal opening of her Dollywood theme park, she said that she was still dealing with “a few little health issues” from which she was taking time to recover.

Parton also shared that she was still navigating her grief over the March 2025 death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, saying that she had been taking time since to rebuild herself “spiritually, emotionally and physically.”

Just 10 days before her passing, Parton canceled a scheduled appearance to celebrate the opening of a new attraction at her Dollywood theme park in Tennessee, saying her doctor had told her not to travel due to health issues.

“Now I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I have had a few little health issues. And sometimes I get a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated,” Parton said in a video message played at the park.

“Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent,” her nephew, Bryan Seaver, shared in a video statement he said Parton asked him to prepare. “By her example, we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history.”

“Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy. He farmed the soil; she farmed songs and happiness,” Seaver said, adding that Parton told him that “she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.”

“May god bless Dolly Parton and may god bless you all. She will always love you,” the video concluded.