Dolly Parton, the prolific singer, songwriter, and philanthropist known for hits like “I Will Always Love You,” “9 to 5” and “Jolene,” has died. She was 80 years old.
Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver, who served as the legendary entertainer’s head of security for more than two decades, shared the news Tuesday in an Instagram video posted to the singer’s page. He explained that she had asked him to announce her death when the time came “years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality.”
“I have imagined the heaviness of this moment, but haven’t truly felt it until now,” he said. “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light, and is in the arms of Jesus. Surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens.”
Seaver continued: “Dolly opened doors not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible. Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent. 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.
“My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you. She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family, whether you liked it or not. Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever.”
Watch the full video below:
Born Dolly Rebecca Parton on Jan. 19, 1946, the fourth of 12 children rose from her family’s two-room log cabin in Tennessee to sell more than 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling, and most universally adored, music artists of all time. Her debut “Hello, I’m Dolly” was released in 1967, the first of 50 studio albums that spanned six decades.
With 25 No. 1 singles on the Billboard country music charts (in a tie for the female-artist record with Reba McEntire), Parton was a timeless hitmaker and tastemaker, becoming one of country music’s most-honored performers, including 11 Grammys, three Emmys, and nominations for two Academy Awards, six Golden Globes and a Tony.
Her 44 career Top 10 country albums are a record for any artist, and after humbly declining (then accepting) a nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, she recorded “Rockstar” the following year, her first rock album, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 – her highest position for an album on the big chart. And yes, she made the Rock Hall.
Iconic songs credited to Parton’s pen and fretboard are too numerous to properly corral. Whitney Houston’s 1992 record-smashing mega-hit “I Will Always Love You” began as a two-time country No. 1 single for Parton, in 1974 and 1982. “Jolene,” released in 1974, has been covered by everyone from Olivia Newton-John to the White Stripes and Miley Cyrus. And while her role in the 1980 comedy “9 to 5” earned her one of those Golden Globe nominations, it was the peppy, eponymous hit theme song – conceived as a daydreaming Parton was clacking her acrylic fingernails against one other to imitate a typewriter – that will carry her legacy into the ages.
And she had many film roles. “9 to 5” slingshot Parton’s career outside the country-music orbit, starring alongside Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda as working women who get even with their sexist, autocratic, conniving boss (played by Dabney Coleman). The film was a smash hit, making $104 million and launching a “9 to 5” TV series and Broadway musical, for which Parton wrote additional new songs.
That star vehicle led to roles in “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (1982); “Rhinestone” (1984); “Steel Magnolias” (1989); “Straight Talk” (1992); and “Joyful Noise” (2012). Parton nearly achieved the EGOT (she won an honorary Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award) and though she was Tony-nominated for “9 to 5,” she didn’t win – and fell just short.
But she didn’t leave her theatrical pursuits behind: Parton’s life story is headed to Broadway this winter, with “Dolly: A True Original Musical” set to open Jan. 19, 2027 — what would have been the country icon’s 81st birthday.
Maintaining a pristine and kindhearted image served her well in other ventures. She founded the Dollywood Company, which manages several entertainment venues, including the Dollywood theme park, which she and business partners opened in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in 1986; the adjoining Splash Country water park; and a series of still-popular dinner-theater venues in and around the Smoky Mountains tourist areas.
A storied philanthropist, she founded the Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to support educational opportunities for children in her native Tennessee. Her signature initiative, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, provides free, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age 5 and has grown into an international literacy program. She has also funded scholarships, healthcare initiatives and disaster relief, including more than $12 million distributed to families affected by the 2016 Tennessee wildfires. Parton has additionally supported medical research, including COVID vaccine research, and her philanthropy has earned major honors including the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.
After a brief hiatus from all but one-off public performances and appearances in recent years, Parton was scheduled to begin a limited Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace in December 2025, but announced Sept. 28 of last year that the six-show run would be postponed due to health issues. She did not disclose details beyond the postponement other than assuring fans in October that “she ain’t dead yet.”
Dolly is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 59 years Carl Thomas Dean (1942–2025), her mother Avie Lee Caroline Owens (1923–2003), and father, Robert Lee Parton, Sr. (1921–2000).
At the singer’s request, a small, private service will be held for immediate family. The family encouraged fans around the world to pay tribute on social media by tagging @DollyParton or by leaving a message at www.dollyparton.com.
In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at www.imaginationlibrary.com.
