Dolly Parton, Country Music Legend, Dies at 80

Dolly Parton, the singer behind Jolene, I Will Always Love You and Coat of Many Colours, has died at 80.

Her family announced the news on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, in a video posted on her official Instagram page by her nephew, Brian Seaver. "Dolly lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely," he said. Her team later confirmed she died peacefully in Nashville, Tennessee, calling her a "global icon and humanitarian."

Born in 1946 in a poor farming family in Tennessee, Parton was the fourth of 12 children. She began singing in church at age six and performed at the Grand Ole Opry at 13. Over 60 years she released hundreds of songs, sold more than 100 million records, and had 25 US country No.1s.

"Jolene" and I Will Always Love You were written days apart in the early 1970s. 'Jolene' became a worldwide hit with the line "I'm begging of you please don't take my man." "I Will Always Love You" later became the best-selling single ever by a woman after Whitney Houston’s 1992 cover. "Coat of Many Colours" told her childhood story, with the line "I was rich in love though I was so very poor."

Outside music, she starred in films including 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias, won 10 Grammys, and wrote more than 3,000 songs. She also gave back through Dollywood, the Dollywood Foundation, and her Imagination Library, which now sends nearly 25 million free books to children each year. In 2020 she donated $1 million to Covid-19 research at Vanderbilt University.

Parton was married to Carl Thomas Dean for 59 years until his death in 2025. She cancelled a Las Vegas residency in May 2026 due to health issues.

Tributes poured in. US President Donald Trump ordered flags to fly at half-mast for one week, saying "there has never been anyone like her."

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

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