Dolly Parton, the country music icon and philanthropist, died in Nashville, Tennessee, on Aug. 25, 2026. She was 80. The news was announced in a video posted to Parton’s official social media by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, who has served as her head of security for more than two decades. Seaver said Parton had asked him to deliver the message on behalf of the Parton and Owens families.
The death is confirmed independently by CNN, NBC News, Variety, Forbes and other national news organizations, alongside the family’s own video statement.
Key facts
- Died: Aug. 25, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 80
- Announced by: her nephew Bryan Seaver, also her longtime head of security
- Cause of death: not officially released
- Confirmed by: CNN, NBC News, Variety, Forbes and other national outlets, plus the family’s own statement
- Husband: Carl Thomas Dean died March 3, 2025, at 82, after nearly 60 years of marriage
- In lieu of flowers: donations requested to Parton’s Imagination Library
- Flags: lowered to half-staff nationwide for one week by order of President Trump
Timeline of recent events
- March 3, 2025: Her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, dies at age 82.
- May 2026: Parton postpones a planned Las Vegas residency, citing years of treatment for kidney stones.
- Around Aug. 14, 2026: She cancels a planned Dollywood appearance after doctors advise against travel because of dehydration and occasional dizziness.
- Days before Aug. 25, 2026: For her 80th birthday, she releases a new version of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” with proceeds reportedly benefiting pediatric cancer research.
- Aug. 25, 2026: Parton dies in Nashville; her family announces her death.
Confirmed, not a repeat of past hoaxes
Parton’s death has been falsely reported before, including a debunked fake deathbed photo purportedly showing her with Reba McEntire; both women publicly denied it. Today’s report is different: it is confirmed independently across multiple major news organizations and by the family itself.
Health issues she had described just days earlier
No official cause of death has been released. In the days before she died, Parton told PEOPLE magazine she had been “dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl” — her late husband — saying her “immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple, three years.”
The kidney issues were not new. In May 2026, she postponed a planned Las Vegas residency, citing years of treatment for kidney stones.
TMZ reported she also canceled a planned Dollywood appearance around Aug. 14, 2026, after doctors advised against travel because of dehydration and occasional dizziness.
One report said she had been admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville that week with kidney and autoimmune issues; no official cause of death has been released.
Her husband died last year
Parton’s husband, Carl Thomas Dean, died on March 3, 2025, at age 82, after nearly 60 years of marriage; the two married on Memorial Day 1966. His cause of death was never made public.
Tributes from Reba McEntire, Miley Cyrus and others
“Well, I just got the news that my buddy Dolly passed onto the higher and greater side,” Reba McEntire wrote, thanking Parton for her “huge huge heart” and adding, “there will never ever be another you.” Jane Fonda wrote that she was “devastated.” Miley Cyrus, Parton’s goddaughter, also paid tribute, as did Dionne Warwick, Lily Tomlin, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban and George Strait.
Days before her death, for her 80th birthday, Parton had released a new version of her 1977 song “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” featuring Lainey Wilson, Cyrus, Queen Latifah and McEntire, with proceeds reportedly benefiting pediatric cancer research at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Flags lowered nationwide
President Trump ordered U.S. flags lowered to half-staff nationwide for one week, beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Parton’s honor, according to multiple news organizations.
How to pay tribute
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking the public to make donations to Parton’s Imagination Library, the children’s literacy charity she founded.