Country Music legend Dolly Parton dies at 80

Country music legend Dolly Parton, whose songs, films and charity work made her one of the world's most recognisable entertainers, has died aged 80.

Parton died in Nashville on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, her family announced. Her nephew Bryan Seaver also announced the death on social media. No cause of death was immediately disclosed.

Her death brings to a close a career that stretched for more than six decades and produced some of country music's best-known songs, including Jolene, 9 to 5, Coat of Many Colors and I Will Always Love You.

Born Dolly Rebecca Parton on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, she was the fourth of 12 children. Her family lived in poverty in the Appalachian mountains, an upbringing that later shaped much of her songwriting.

Parton moved to Nashville after high school and emerged as a songwriter before gaining national attention through The Porter Wagoner Show in the late 1960s.

She later broke away to pursue a solo career and became one of the rare country artists to build a major audience in pop music. Her 1977 album Here You Come Again strengthened that crossover, while 9 to 5 became both a hit song and one of her best-known film roles.

Parton also wrote I Will Always Love You, originally released in 1974. Whitney Houston later turned the song into a global hit after recording it for the 1992 film The Bodyguard.

Her influence extended beyond music. Parton starred in films including 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias, built the Dollywood entertainment business in Tennessee and established the Imagination Library, which has distributed books to children in several countries.

She also donated $1 million towards research that helped develop Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine.

Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. She also received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Kennedy Center Honors.

Her death comes about 17 months after that of her husband, Carl Dean, who died on March 3, 2025, aged 82. The two had been married for nearly six decades.

In the days before her death, Parton had spoken about ongoing health problems. In an interview published on August 21, she said she had neglected some of her own health concerns while caring for Dean before his death. Despite the setbacks, she said she still had projects she wanted to pursue.

Her family is expected to hold a private service, while fans around the world have begun paying tribute to a woman whose work crossed country, pop, film and philanthropy.