Dolly Parton dead at 80 after career that changed music industry

Country music legend Dolly Parton has died at 80.

Her family announced the devastating news in a video posted to Instagram Tuesday.

“I am representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my Aunt Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean,” a statement read by Dolly’s nephew Bryan Seaver said.

“The sadness lays with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus,” Seaver continued.

“Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life,” he added. “By her example we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history.”

“My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you. She has always been on your television, your record player, you CD, and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family, whether you liked it or not.”

It remains unclear exactly what the country crooner died from, but last year she confided to fans that she had been suffering from health complications since the death of her husband Carl Dean earlier in the year.

She had also cancelled a series of appearances and performances in the last year.

Known as the queen of country music, Dolly was famous for a huge voice which belted out hits like “Jolene,” “Joshua,” and “9 to 5.”

She was also famous for her over-the-top looks, equally huge personality, charitable causes, and Dollywood theme park in her home state of Tennessee.

The superstar died over a year after her beloved husband, Carl Dean, who passed on March 3, 2025.

Dolly was born in 1946 into a rural household with 10 siblings and no running water, saying over the years that she grew up “dirt poor” and had to scrape by with her family.

But despite those struggles Dolly’s mother encouraged her apparent musical talents — by 5 she’d written her first song, by 10 she was singing on local radio shows and at just 13 years old she made her first appearance on the legendary live Grand Ole Opry radio performance in Nashville.

That’s where she met the likes of Johnny Cash and Porter Wagoner, two stars who she would work with throughout her career as she shot to super stardom.

Her first hits came at 21 in 1967 with singles “Dumb Blonde” and “Something Fishy,” and by the early 70s she was topping the charts with songs like “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You.”

Despite those successes Dolly drove herself hard — sometimes sleeping in cars and bathing in gas station sinks as she raced across the country from gig to gig for growing fanbase.

“My bedroom was the backseat and [my Uncle Bill Owens’] was the front seat,” Dolly said during a 2018 appearance on “Shine On With Reese.” “I’d wash my hair in the filling station bathrooms and put makeup on in the side mirror of the car, and that was just how you did it.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.