Dolly Parton Dies at 80, Family Says

Singer Dolly Parton, who was 80, has died, her nephew said on Aug. 25.

“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,” Bryan Seaver, the nephew, said in a video statement as a representative of Parton’s family.

Parton had outlived a number of relatives, including her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean. Parton and Dean had no children, but many nephews and nieces.

Parton was a singer, songwriter, philanthropist, and businesswoman. Her hundreds of songs included “Jolene” and “Coat of Many Colors.” She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

Parton appealed to fans of all kinds, in part because she steered clear of politics. “I don’t do politics,” she said during a 2019 podcast appearance. “I have too many fans on both sides of the fence. Of course, I have my opinion about everything, but I learned years ago to keep your mouth shut about things.”

She was born in 1946 in Pittman Center, Tennessee, and her projects eventually included a theme park near her birthplace.

Seaver, who had been Parton’s head of security for more than 20 years, said that Parton contacted him in the past and requested he make the announcement when her time came.

“I have imagined the heaviness of this moment, but haven’t truly felt it before now,” he said. “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.”

Parton, he said, had opened doors for himself and the rest of her family, as well as generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers “from every walk of life and across every continent.”

He said that, “by her example, we felt that anything was possible” and that he and his team would work to ensure “her spirit will live with us forever.”

Parton’s cause and location of death have not been disclosed.