WE’LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU… — Country music icon Dolly Parton d.3a.d at 80 after recent hospitalisation
WE’LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU Country music superstar Dolly Parton dead at 80 after being hospitalized over health issues four days ago
DOLLY Parton has died at the age of 80 just days after being hospitalized.
The country legend’s nephew Bryan Seaver made the heartbreaking announcement to her official Instagram page Tuesday afternoon, shocking her fans worldwide.
Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80 after a lengthy health battleCredit: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via
The legendary singer spent over 65 years in the music industryCredit: Getty Images – Getty
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton. Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation, and Gigi to the next,” he began in an emotional video.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality.
“As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.
“It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness.
“But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.”
According to TMZ, Dolly was admitted to a Nashville hospital on Friday morning suffering from kidney and autoimmune problems.
The beloved singer died in the hospital on Tuesday morning, and her cause of death has yet to be released.
She had been struggling with her health for some time before her death.
Dolly spoke with PEOPLE on Friday admitting she had recently been through “hard times” with her health.
“I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.”
Dolly’s nephew Bryan made the heartbreaking announcement on the singer’s InstagramCredit: Instagram/dollyparton
Dolly was last seen at the opening of her Nashville truck stop in JuneCredit: NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” she said.
“But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago.
“I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI! Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin.”’
Dolly’s husband of 60 years Carl Thomas Dean died in March 2025, just a few years after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
In a touching tribute to Carl after his death, Dolly dedicated the song, If You Hadn’t Been There, to his memory.
Dolly was forced to bow out of numerous scheduled gigs planned for 2025 and earlier this year.
But during her last public appearance, Dolly appeared upbeat at the unveiling of her new Nashville truck stop.
She looked stunning with her signature heels and her big blond hair during the June event.
In his statement, Dolly’s nephew recalled first joining Dolly on the road as a kid, “getting a taste of the road life in the early 1980s. Dolly opened doors not just for me but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible.
“Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent.
“By her example, we believed that anything is 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, your CD and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family whether you liked it or not.
Dolly sang a duet with Kenny Rogers in July 1989Credit: Alamy
Sabrina Carpenter and Dolly smiled as the pair met up to record Please Please Please last yearCredit: Instagram
“Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever.
“Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy; he farmed the soil, she farmed songs and happiness.
“Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.”
And just one week before her death, she shared about her excitement to open a new museum in her very last post.
“It’s the biggest exhibit of yours truly that the world has ever seen,” she gushed about the exhibit, which is scheduled to open at her SongTeller Hotel in Nashville later this year.
In 2025, the Tennessee native had said she needed to go through “a few procedures” amid ongoing “health challenges.”
On October 6, Dolly’s sister Frieda had pleaded with her fans to pray for her sibling due to fears around her health.
Frieda posted an emotional statement online saying: “I have been lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me.”
Dolly performed during a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs on November 18, 2023, at Neyland Stadium, in KnoxvilleCredit: Getty
Dolly posed for Playboy in 1978Credit: Getty Images
She started her music career as a child performing for local radio stations and on TV shows across her hometown Pittman Centre.
At just 11 years old, Dolly recorded her first single titled Puppy Love.
Across the following decade she became known as more of a top songwriter alongside her uncle Bill Owens.
In 1965, the 19-year-old future icon signed her first record deal with Monument Records as a singer songwriter.
Dolly performed Jolene with goddaughter Miley Cyrus at the 61st annual Grammy Awards in 2019Credit: AP
Dolly wore a gold dress in her final Instagram post just a week before her death, but it appears to have been filmed months priorCredit: Instagram / dollyparton
She had several songs chart in the US country charts in the late 1960s before releasing her debut album Hello, I’m Dolly.
Dolly’s biggest mainstream hit came in 1973 when she released Jolene.
The hit made it to number one on the country charts and even cracked the Hot 100.
It also made it onto the UK and international charts as Dolly Parton became a household name for country fans across the world.
Between 1974 and 1980, Dolly produced a series of country hits which included wight number one singles.
During this time, she even won a Grammy award for the Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her Here You Come Again album.
Now viewed as a mainstream superstar in the US, Dolly would appear on several major TV chat shows and take part in interviews.
Her commercial success skyrocketed in 1980 as she released three consecutive country chart toppers.
Dolly with her late husband of almost 60 years Carl Dean
Dolly pictured at just 14, when she started to performCredit: Rex
Starting Over Again and Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You became beloved songs for the genre.
But it was the smash hit 9 to 5 which broke through into the pop charts and remained there into early 1981.
The song was initially made for the comedy flick of the same name and quickly became an anthem across the US workplace for its catchy chorus.
It won Dolly countless awards including two Grammy Awards and a nominations for Song of the Year.
She also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
It also marked one of her greatest achievements as she became one of the few female country singers to have a number one single on both the country and pop charts simultaneously.
The song remains a classic today and is often performed at karaoke nights, parties and classic country nights across the globe.
Dolly remained a cult figure in the US music industry for another several decades with her releasing music right up until her passing.
In 2025, she featured alongside Sabrina Carpenter on Please Please Please as well as releasing a heartfelt song for her late husband.
Dolly has no children but leaves behind her legacy in music.
Across her illustrious career, Dolly became one of the most-honored female country performers of all time.
A total of 25 of her single or albums became Gold, Platinum or Multi-Platinum records.
She had 26 songs reach number one on the Billboard country charts – a record for a female artist – and 42 career top 10 country albums.
As of 2012, she had written more than 3,000 songs and sold more than 100 million records.
She also boasts a whole host of awards including 11 Grammy Awards alongside 55 nominations.
Dolly is also in several hall of fames across the US including the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In 2023, she was even ranked at number 27 on Rolling Stone‘s 2023 list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
