United States singer, actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80.
Parton known for hits like “Jolene” and “Coat of Many Colors” died on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.
“Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus,” her nephew Bryan Seaver said in a video shared on social media.
Seaver said the multiple award-winning singer had “opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life.”
The family did not give a cause of death, but the singer had spoken about her recent ill health. Her husband Carl Dean died last year.
United States President Donald Trump order the lowering of American flags to half staff across the U.S. for a week for Parton, calling her passing a “true loss for millions of people.”
“There has never been anyone like her, and never will,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
In May, Parton announced the cancellation of a series of Las Vegas concerts, citing ongoing health concerns.
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In videos shared on her social media accounts, Parton said that while treatment for an unspecified illness was going well, she was not ready to be performing on stage.
Parton lived her entire adult life in the heart of Americana, folk and country music. The day after graduating from high school, she struck out for the country music capital Nashville.
By 1967, at age 21, she was among the most recognised figures in American music, having joined Porter Wagoner’s syndicated country music television show that broadcast her voice and face into millions of United States homes.
Parton was prolific in a career spanning six decades during which she penned some 3,000 tunes.
They included the soundtrack smash hit “9 to 5,” “Islands In the Stream,” and the iconic ballad “I Will Always Love You,” which became an international success for Whitney Houston.
Releasing 49 studio albums and more than 100 compilation and collaboration albums, she earned the title of “queen of country music.”
Parton wrote the book on how a woman can rule the airwaves in a male-dominated industry, ultimately becoming an American treasure whose songs were covered by the likes of Shania Twain, Sinead O’Connor and the White Stripes.
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