Dolly Parton’s family announces death on social media
Dolly Parton’s family announced her death on social media. The country music legend was 80 years old.
Dolly Parton, the groundbreaking country music icon, has died. She was 80.
Parton’s death was confirmed by her family on Tuesday, Aug 25. The iconic “Jolene” singer had been facing health issues in the last year of her life and had canceled a number of public appearances prior to her death.
“My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you,” Bryan Seaver, Parton’s nephew, said in a video announcing her death on Aug. 25. The video was posted on the singer’s official social media pages.
“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,” Seaver said.
Here’s what we know.
A cause of death for Parton has not been released, but the singer had been open about her health struggles since 2025. In October, Parton spoke candidly in a video message that was released after her sister raised concerns by publicly asking fans to pray for the singer.
Dolly Parton health update, cause of death: How did the country music icon die?
At the time, Parton said she was doing “OK” but had “some problems” to deal with and was undergoing “a few treatments.”
“Back when my husband, Carl, was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself,” Parton said. “So I let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of. So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said, ‘We need to take care of this. We need to take care of that.'”
Parton added at the time the she had to “cancel some things” as she underwent “a few treatments.”
In May, Parton shared a health update as she canceled all of her Las Vegas shows. The singer shared that she “always had problems with my kidney stones” and that her “immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past three years,” but “[doctors] are working real hard on rebuilding and strengthening those.”
Parton died on Tuesday, Aug. 25, in Nashville, Tennessee.
Parton spoke about her health in a conversation with People magazine on Friday, Aug. 21, just four days before she died. The singer told the magazine she had been through “hard times” with her health recently.
“I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” she said, referring to her late husband Carl Dean, who died in 2025 at 82.
“It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” she told People. “But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago.”
Parton added that she was “still healin'” and “still workin'” and noted that her team was in the “early stages of development” with companies that create “avatar performances.”
Parton’s official website appeared to be offline by midafternoon on Tuesday, Aug. 25, presumably due to an influx of visitors after her death was announced. As of 3:30 p.m. ET, the website displayed a blank page.
A private memorial service will be held for immediate family, according to Parton’s rep. Fans who would like to pay tribute are encouraged to tag @DollyParton on socials or leave a message at dollyparton.com. In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at imaginationlibrary.com.
President Donald Trump mourned Parton in a statement shared on Truth Social and announced he would order the American flag to be lowered throughout the United States “for a one week period” beginning at 6 p.m.
“Very sad to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER, has just passed away,” Trump wrote. “This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will.”
The president added, “Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you.”
Shortly after her death was announced, Parton was already being mourned by fans at her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which has been adorned with flowers.
More recently, Parton missed an expected Dollywood appearance earlier this month, but sent a video message: She noted she was “supposed to be there in person” but was unable to make it.
“Now I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I’ve had a few little health issues, and sometimes I get a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated. And I’m dehydrated,” she said. “And so my Nashville doctor, who’s kind of clipped my wings, [is] saying, ‘You ain’t traveling this week.'”
Parton’s death comes more than a year after her husband of six decades, Carl Dean, died in 2025. He was 82. At the time, the singer said in a statement, “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
The couple had been married since 1966.
Parton’s death was confirmed in a video shared on Instagram by her nephew, Bryan Seaver.
In the video statement shared on Parton’s official Instagram account, Seaver said his aunt asked him to make the video announcing her death “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,” he said. “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 for her to meet them in the heavens.”
In the video, Seaver also honored Parton for the way she “opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life, and across every continent,” and helped others believe “anything was possible.”
“Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever,” he said. “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 wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.”
Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY; Devarrick Turner, Knoxville News Sentinel