Legendary singer Dolly Parton has passed away at the age of 80
Parton, considered one of the greatest singers of all time, passed away after months of dealing with health issues.
Dolly Parton, one of the greatest singers and songwriters of country and pop music, has died at the age of 80. Her nephew, Brian Seaver, announced her death on Instagram on behalf of the family.
"My name is Brian Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I am representing the Parton and Evans families today in announcing the death of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean," Seaver said in a video.
According to him, Parton had asked him to release such a statement years ago: "As her head of security for over two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I imagined the weight of this moment - but I didn't truly feel it until now." Just yesterday, it was reported that Parton was exploring the option of an avatar performance, with a digital, hologram-like figure, after she had very recently addressed her health condition to fans: "I know that lately everyone thinks I am sicker than I really am. Do I look sick to you? I am working hard here."
Parton's career spanned decades. She is considered the most successful country artist in sales, with more than 160 million albums sold worldwide. Her debut album, "Hello, I’m Dolly," was released in 1967, and later came giant hits like "I Will Always Love You," "9 to 5," and "Jolene."
Parton was born in 1946 in Pittman Center, Tennessee, to a poor family with 11 brothers and sisters. "We never really starved, but sometimes we didn't have enough to eat," she told PEOPLE in a 1977 interview. At age 6, she began playing her first guitar and singing in her grandfather's church, and a year later she already began writing songs.
In 1971, her first country hit reached number one, "Joshua." That same year, "Coat of Many Colors" was released, which reached number four. In 1973, "Jolene" was released, which reached number one on the country chart and also entered the Billboard Hot 100. Parton left the Wagoner TV show in 1974 and wrote "I Will Always Love You" as a farewell song to her creative partner. "When I was preparing to leave, it wasn't a good situation. So I went home and the song just came to me. The next morning I said, 'This is how I feel.' Tears were streaming down his face," she recounted in 2012. The song reached the top of the country chart twice, but became a global hit when Whitney Houston recorded it for the 1992 film "The Bodyguard."
Alongside her musical work, Parton also maintained a film career, which began in 1980 when she starred in the movie "9 to 5" alongside Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. The iconic theme song was her first single to reach number one on the Hot 100. Throughout her career, Parton won an Emmy, 11 Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards, and seven Academy of Country Music Awards. She was nominated for an Oscar twice, received an honorary Oscar, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1999) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2022).
Beyond music and film, Parton was involved in philanthropic work. The most prominent of these was "Imagination Library," an initiative that sends one book a month to children from birth to kindergarten. Parton married Carl Thomas Dean in May 1966. Dean passed away on March 3, 2025. Parton wrote on Instagram at the time: "Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words cannot do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years."
