Dolly Parton at the grand opening of the newly rebranded Dolly Parton’s Tennessean Travel Stop, June 24, 2026
Dolly Parton — musician, humanitarian and global icon — has died, according to official announcements made public by her family. She was 80.
A release notes that Parton died peacefully Tuesday in Nashville.
From her storied music career to her philanthropic work and stints as an actress, author, playwright and producer, Parton was known and loved as a Tennessee icon. She was raised in Sevier County as one of 12 children before debuting on the Grand Ole Opry stage at age 13. A seven-decade country music career followed, beginning with her 1967 debut album Hello, I’m Dolly and seven years on The Porter Wagoner Show. The show led to a fruitful — and sometimes frictioned — creative partnership with Wagoner, with whom Parton recorded 13 studio albums.
Parton wrote the song “I Will Always Love You” in the wake of her departure from the show — on the same day, as she often stated, that she wrote her equally renowned “Jolene.” Both songs reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts. “I Will Always Love You” topped the chart for a second time in 1982, and Whitney Houston’s 1992 cover spent 14 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, then a record-breaking stint.
Parton’s impact can be felt across industries. Her Pigeon Forge theme park Dollywood regularly attracts more than 2 million visitors annually. Her film production company Sandollar Productions produced films including Father of the Bride, Sabrina and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as Buffy’s beloved television adaptation. As an actress, she appeared in films including 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias, and had a later role in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana. In June, she unveiled the rebranded Dolly Parton's Tennessean Travel Stop in Cornersville, Tenn.
Parton’s extensive charitable work often focused on children, as well as causes close to her home. She founded The Dollywood Foundation in 1986 to serve East Tennessee students, and The Imagination Library in 1995 to distribute books to children across the country. In February 2026, the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville was renamed the Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital after a “generational commitment” from the musician to pediatric care.
Parton was preceded in death by her husband Carl Thomas Dean, her mother Avie Lee Caroline Owens, and her father Robert Lee Parton Sr. In lieu of flowers, her family asks for donations to be made to The Imagination Library online.
