Country Music Icon Dolly Parton Dies at 80 in Nashville

Dolly Parton, the beloved country music legend, songwriter, actress, and philanthropist, died Tuesday at age 80 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Her family announced the news in a video posted to her social media accounts by her nephew Bryan Seaver, son of her sister Cassie Parton and Parton’s longtime head of security. Seaver said Parton had asked him years earlier to make the announcement when the time came. He described her as having “lived in the light” and now being “in the arms of Jesus,” noting she was surely met by her late husband Carl Dean, her parents, and others. A small private service will be held for immediate family. No cause of death has been publicly disclosed; reports indicate she died peacefully.

Parton had faced health challenges in recent years, including issues with her immune and digestive systems that she described as having “got all out of whack,” ongoing problems with kidney stones, and treatments that forced her to postpone and later cancel a planned Las Vegas residency. Concerns grew after the March 2025 death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean; she later said she had neglected her own care while looking after him. In October 2025 she posted a video reassuring fans (“I ain’t dead yet”) amid rumors. In May 2026 she reported responding well to treatment. Days before her death, around August 21, she gave a health update to People magazine acknowledging ongoing issues while saying she planned to keep working. She was reportedly admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center that Friday.

Major outlets including The New York Times, Associated Press, CNN, and Reuters confirmed the death based on the family statement and publicist comments. Tributes have poured in from across the entertainment world and beyond. President Donald Trump ordered U.S. flags lowered in her honor, calling her “one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond” and “a true loss for millions of people.”

Parton was widely known for her songwriting and hits such as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “9 to 5”; her acting roles; her extensive philanthropy, especially the Imagination Library book program that has distributed hundreds of millions of free books to children; and her Dollywood theme park in the Smoky Mountains. She rose from a hardscrabble Appalachian upbringing to become one of America’s most enduring and unifying cultural figures.

Note that Parton had been the subject of various death hoaxes and rumors in prior years that were repeatedly debunked. This announcement is distinct and corroborated by primary family sources and mainstream reporting.