JUST IN: Country Music Legend Dolly Parton Dead At 80 – “Lived In The Light”

A message from the family of Dolly Parton. pic.twitter.com/9DNRgRx0uH

— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) August 25, 2026

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In May, the country legend announced she was canceling her planned Las Vegas residency, which had already been postponed from 2025 to September 2026 because of health concerns.

Parton had previously discussed problems involving kidney stones, saying her immune and digestive systems had gotten “out of whack” and were being treated.

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BREAKING: Country music legend Dolly Parton has died at 80.

The Tennessee icon behind "Jolene," "9 to 5," and "I Will Always Love You" leaves behind a career spanning nearly seven decades, crossing music, film, and business while becoming one of the most beloved figures in… pic.twitter.com/ZLvVRabfMH

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 25, 2026

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BREAKING: Dolly Parton, the beloved country music superstar known as much for her philanthropy and theme park business as she was for her chart-topping hit songs, has died at 80. https://t.co/oaMg6vRGft pic.twitter.com/uHdjVF21Lq

— ABC News (@ABC) August 25, 2026

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Parton’s wholesome ‌personality, combined with her towering blond hairdos, flamboyant costumes and giddy delight at holding center stage, endeared her to Americans of all backgrounds and helped introduce country music to international audiences.

Over the years Parton hosted a TV variety show, starred in movies, and even created a theme park, Dollywood, a popular tourist spot in her home state of Tennessee – all in addition to her lauded work as a songwriter.

But the quality that gave her enduring star power was her ability to connect with people. Coming from a self-described “dirt-poor” family, Parton often stood in as a symbol of the working-class American and regularly threw her name and money behind causes she believed in.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Parton donated $1 million to vaccine research at Vanderbilt University in 2020, making her an early sponsor of Moderna’s vaccine development.

She conducted a literacy program for preschool children across the United States, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland, and provided scholarships to high school students in the Tennessee county where she was born.

The county erected a life-size statue of her in front of the courthouse in thanks, though she declined another proposed statue of her in Nashville in 2021, saying, “Given all that’s going on in the world, ⁠I don’t think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time.”

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