Dolly Parton’s representatives have confirmed that the beloved country music icon was privately battling cancer prior to her death at the age of 80. The singer passed away on August 25 at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, where she had been hospitalized since August 21. Her representatives described her illness as a brief battle with cancer, though they did not disclose the specific type she had been fighting. The diagnosis had not been publicly known before her passing.
The announcement of her death was made on August 25 by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, on behalf of the Parton and Owens families. Seaver, who is the son of Parton’s sister Cassie, also served as his aunt’s head of security for more than two decades, taking over the role from his father, Larry. In a video statement shared to Parton’s social media pages, Seaver revealed that the announcement was something his aunt had asked of him years ago. He expressed the profound honor and sadness of the moment, noting that Parton had lived in the light and is now in the arms of Jesus, reunited with her late husband, Carl, her parents, and many others. Seaver emphasized that Parton opened doors not only for her family but also for generations of dreamers, singers, and songwriters across the globe, changing history through her example.
The cancer diagnosis provides new context to a series of health concerns that had led Parton to scale back her public appearances over the past year. In September 2025, she postponed a planned Las Vegas residency, explaining at the time that she needed to undergo several medical procedures. The six concerts, originally scheduled for December 2025, were subsequently rescheduled for September 2026, though Parton did not disclose the nature of those procedures at the time. Her final public appearance took place on June 24 at the grand opening of Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop in Cornersville, Tennessee. Later, on August 14, she was unable to attend the grand opening of a new ride at her Dollywood theme park due to her health, choosing instead to address her fans virtually through a video message. In that message, she explained that her Nashville doctor had grounded her due to dehydration and dizziness, remarking that when a doctor tells you not to travel, you must comply.
Just days before her death, on August 21, Parton spoke about her health in an interview with People. She admitted that she was dealing with health issues that she had neglected while she was focused on caring for her late husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025 at the age of 82.
Parton’s passing marks the end of an extraordinary 60-year career that established her as a legendary figure in country music. Her career was defined by timeless hits such as "Jolene," "I Will Always Love You," "9 to 5," and "Coat of Many Colors." She released 49 studio albums, 25 of which reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, a record unmatched by any other female country artist. Her massive success earned her 11 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Reflecting on her career in 2025, Parton shared that she had always enjoyed her work despite the hard times she had to navigate. Her final studio album, "Rockstar," was released in 2023. During an interview promoting the album, she declared her determination to never retire, expressing her hope to pass away on stage in the middle of performing a song she had written.
In addition to her musical legacy, Parton enjoyed a successful film career, appearing in more than 20 movies. She made her onscreen debut in the 1980 comedy "9 to 5," starring alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, and later starred in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" with Burt Reynolds and "Steel Magnolias" alongside Sally Field and Shirley MacLaine.
Beyond her artistic achievements, Parton was a passionate philanthropist. Her Dollywood Foundation, established in 1988, has donated millions of dollars for college scholarships. She also launched the Imagination Library, a global book-gifting program for children, and donated $1 million in 2020 to support research at Vanderbilt University that helped develop Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. In 2024, she donated another $1 million to assist victims of the devastating floods caused by Hurricane Helene in East Tennessee.
Parton’s business acumen was equally notable, as she retained ownership of her extensive music catalog. When Whitney Houston recorded a cover of "I Will Always Love You" in 1994, the song became a global phenomenon, earning Parton more than $10 million in royalties by the end of the 1990s. In a 2021 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen," Parton shared that she invested those earnings into a strip mall in a historically Black neighborhood in Nashville, calling it "the house that Whitney built" in honor of Houston. Parton also served as the "Dreamer-in-Chief" of her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, which she opened in 1986. She remained confident in the park's future, once stating that its growth and legacy would continue long after she was gone.
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