Dolly Parton, the country music legend and philanthropist whose film roles included 9 To 5 and Steel Magnolias, has died in Nashville, Tennessee
Dolly Parton, the country music legend and philanthropist whose film roles included 9 To 5 and Steel Magnolias, has died in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80.
Parton’s nephew and longtime head of security Bryan Sever announced the news on Instagram on Tuesday morning, writing: “I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.
“It is an honour,” Sever continued. “An honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light.”
While no cause was initially given for Parton’s death on Tuesday, representatives said later that she had died at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones after a brief battle with cancer.
Her health had been in decline. Late last year she cancelled a Las Vegas residency, and did not attend an Academy ceremony to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
An excerpt from a long tribute on Instagram by Jane Fonda, Parton’s 9 To 5 co-star, read: “I am devastated […] I never knew anyone like her. She was simultaneously a naughty, playful southern gal from the hollows of Tennessee and a deep, soulful thinker who could see through people right down to their true selves. She was many things…lyricist, songstress, player of many instruments, writer, prankster, visionary, loyal friend, who’d never go to bed before she and her friends had laughed so hard they’d have to cross their legs […] RIP, beautiful woman. We love you.”
The film’s other co-star Lily Tomlin simply posted “No words” accompanied by a broken heart emoji and a photograph of herself and Parton at the film’s premiere.
Sally Field, one of Parton’s co-stars in Steel Magnolias, posted: “If there are truly angels on earth, then we have just lost one. Dolly Parton. There will never be another.”
The vivacious and famously gracious and witty Parton was born on January 19 1946 in Tennessee as the fourth of 12 children. After singing in church she broke out, performing on local radio before a move to Nashville set her on her way to stardom.
Parton replaced Norma Jean to duet with television presenter Porter Wagner from the overdue 1960s before her solo career began to take off. In the early 1970s she released Joshua and Coat Of Many Colours and then Jolene in 1973.
Her genius as a songwriter saw her write classics such as I Will Always Love You, which was later covered by Whitney Houston, Here You Come Again, and 9 To 5.
Parton’s charm and energy crossed into Hollywood and she starred in 9 To 5 with Fonda and Tomlin, which earned her an Oscar nomination for best song in 1981; Rhinestone (1984) with Sylvester Stallone; The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (1982) opposite Burt Reynolds; and Steel Magnolias (1989) with Shirley Maclaine, Julia Roberts, and Field. She earned a second best song Oscar nod for Transamerica in 2006.
Usually bedecked in rhinestones and always quick to poke fun at herself, Parton once quipped: “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap.”
Parton sold more than 100m records, won 11 Grammys and the lifetime achievement award. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002.
Her overdue husband Carl Dean died in 2025.
