Dolly Parton, country music legend, dies at age 80
CBS News · LC · trust 36/100
Updated on: August 25, 2026 / 6:06 PM EDT / CBS News
Dolly Parton, one of the most groundbreaking and successful musicians in the history of country music, with a hitmaking career that spanned six decades and launched her into TV and movie stardom, died Tuesday. She was 80.
Parton died peacefully in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a statement posted to her social media accounts . Additional details and a cause of death weren't provided.
Her nephew Bryan Seaver, who was his aunt's head of security, announced her death in a prerecorded video posted to social media .
"It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness, but sadness lies with us, not with Dolly," he said. "Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus."
CBS News will celebrate Parton's life with a one-hour primetime special airing Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+ .
Last October, Parton's sister Freida Parton sparked concerns about the star's health when she took to social media asking for prayers for her sister. Parton later assured fans by saying that she wasn't sick and was OK.
But in May, Parton told fans in a social media video that she was responding well to treatment she was receiving, saying she's long had issues with kidney stones and her immune system and digestive system "got all out of whack" over the past few years. She also said she wasn't up to "stage performance level" and had to cancel upcoming performances in Las Vegas.
Reactions poured in as news spread about Parton's death.
At the White House, President Trump called her death "a true loss for millions of people" and ordered the American flag lowered across the country starting Tuesday evening.
"There has never been anyone like her, and never will," Mr. Trump said.
Linda Ronstadt , who worked with Parton and Emmylou Harris on 1987's "Trio" album, was among the stars mourning Parton.
"I am deeply saddened by the passing of my friend, Dolly Parton," Ronstadt said in a statement. "One of the most extraordinary musical experiences of my life was recording with her. The world is a poorer place without her."
Fellow country star Reba McEntire posted a photo of the two singers together.
"Your love, your music and you gave so much with your huge huge heart," McEntire said. "There will never ever be another you. We will remember and cherish every memory and every note you ever played and sang. Thank you, Lord, for Dolly."
Julia Roberts , who starred in 1989's "Steel Magnolias" with Parton, called her "a magical and joyous human."
"I hold knowing her as a treasure in my life," Roberts said in a statement. "The sun has dimmed today."
Actress Sally Field remembered Parton by posting a group photo of the movie's stars to social media.
"If there are truly angels on earth, then we have just lost one. Dolly Parton," Field said. "There will never be another. I adored her with all my heart and will always cherish our time together. Forever. Rest in peace beautiful Dolly."
In Los Angeles, Parton was remembered as a "once-in-a-lifetime talent" by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and flowers were placed at her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In New York, the Empire State Building planned to pay tribute to the star by covering the top of the skyscraper in pink light.
Since breaking onto the country music scene with her 1967 debut "Hello, I'm Dolly," Parton never seemed to slow down, releasing nearly 50 studio albums and selling more than 100 million records.
A prolific songwriter, she won 10 Grammys and earned 55 nominations.
But she treated her success with a certain modesty. In 2022, when she was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, she tried to pull herself out of the running , saying she didn't feel that she had "earned that right." Her peers and fans vehemently disagreed .
In a 2022 interview on "CBS Mornings," she called it "an honor" to have so many loyal fans, but added that "it scares me to death sometimes. I'm always sayin' I'm not all that, I'm even not all there sometimes."
Born on Jan. 19, 1946, Parton grew up in poverty in rural Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children.
"Well, what they call 'white trash,' I don't like anybody else calling me that, but to be called a hillbilly, I always take pride in that," she told CBS News in a 2016 interview.
She began songwriting at a young age and got her break in 1966 when she moved to Nashville and was given a spot on country singer Porter Wagoner's variety show, which she kept for seven years.
She explained that she honed her distinctive look and style from a woman she knew, whom she described as a "town tramp" — upending expectations of how she should look and dress.
"And she wore the makeup, red nails, red high heels, tight clothes," Parton told CBS News. "I just thought she was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. And people say, 'Oh, she ain't nothing but trash.' But in my mind, I thought, 'That's what I'm going to be when I grow up.'"
Her first No. 1 country hit came in 1970 with "Joshua," but it was 1973's "Jolene" that made her a household name.
She said the song came about after meeting a young fan one night after a performance.
"I remember this little redheaded girl with green eyes, prettiest little thing, and I said, 'Well, what's your name?' And she said, 'Jolene.' I said, 'I love that name.' All the way back to the bus I was [singing], 'Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,' so I wouldn't forget the name," Parton told CBS News in 2019.
After a string of successful albums in the 1970s, she set her sights on Hollywood, making her major film debut in the 1980 feminist comedy classic "9 to 5," alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, playing Doralee, a secretary who takes on her sexist boss. The movie was a huge hit and also earned Parton an Oscar nomination for the song of the same name.
Two years later, she starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in…
Read the original at CBS News →
Open in TruthVane →