Dolly Parton, Country Legend and Philanthropist, Dies at 80

Dolly Parton, one of the most celebrated figures in country music and a philanthropist whose impact reached far beyond the stage, died Tuesday at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80. Her nephew Brian Seaver announced the news on Instagram, and her team confirmed she passed after a brief battle with cancer, surrounded by loved ones.

Parton's songwriting was unmatched: in a single day she wrote both 'Jolene' and 'I Will Always Love You,' two of the 20th century's most enduring songs. She scored 25 US country No. 1 singles, 47 albums in the country Top 10, and crossed over to pop with '9 to 5' in 1980. Her acting career earned Golden Globe nominations, and her Imagination Library literacy program has donated more than 150 million books to children worldwide.

Born in poverty in a one-room cabin in Tennessee, Parton rose from church singing to local TV at age 10, cutting her first record at 13. After moving to Nashville in 1964, she initially struggled as a pop singer before switching to country, where she found her voice. Her partnership with Porter Wagoner in the late 1960s boosted her career, and her 1974 farewell song to him, 'I Will Always Love You,' became a country No. 1 and later a global smash for Whitney Houston in 1992, still the best-selling single by a woman.

Parton's business acumen was as sharp as her songwriting. She co-founded Sandollar Productions, which produced hits like 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' and transformed a Tennessee theme park into Dollywood, now a major tourist destination. Her Dollywood Foundation, established in 1988, funds scholarships and the Imagination Library, which sends a book monthly to children from birth to age five. In 2020, her $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center helped fund the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Parton also supported LGBTQ+ rights, Black Lives Matter, and wildfire relief efforts. She canceled her Las Vegas residency in May 2026 due to health issues, and a Broadway musical based on her life is set to open later this year.