Dolly Parton, the singer-songwriter, actress and philanthropist who spent seven decades turning Appalachian bluegrass roots into a global pop-culture empire, died on August 25, 2026, in Nashville. She was 80.

Her publicist, Marcel Pariseau, confirmed that Parton died after a brief battle with cancer, according to NPR’s obituary and NBC News.

Key Points

• Died August 25, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 80
• Publicist Marcel Pariseau confirmed the cause as “a brief battle with cancer”
• Career spanned more than seven decades, from a one-room cabin in the Smokies to global superstardom
• Wrote and recorded hundreds of songs, including “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “Coat of Many Colors”
• Founded the Dollywood theme park and the Imagination Library, which has mailed free books to millions of children since 1995
• Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022

Parton’s publicist released a statement calling her “a rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see,” adding that Parton “will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family.”

Born in 1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee, Parton signed her first recording contract as a teenager and by the 1970s had become one of Nashville’s most prolific songwriters, penning “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” in the same writing session, according to her NPR remembrance. Her crossover into film cemented her as a household name well beyond country radio. She starred opposite Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in 1980’s “9 to 5,” writing and recording the title track that became one of her signature hits, and later appeared in “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and “Steel Magnolias.”

Parton opened Dollywood in the Smoky Mountains in 1986, turning her home region into a year-round tourist draw that still employs thousands of people in East Tennessee. In 1995 she launched the Imagination Library, a program that mails a free book each month to enrolled children from birth to age five. The program has since expanded into a global literacy effort that has delivered hundreds of millions of books, according to NBC News’s reporting.

Her philanthropy extended into public health and medicine. She donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help fund COVID-19 vaccine research, and her contributions to a Knoxville children’s hospital were significant enough that the facility was renamed in her honor, according to NPR.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted Parton in 2022, a recognition that arrived alongside decades of Grammy wins and a Kennedy Center Honor, cementing a legacy that crossed country, pop, gospel and bluegrass. Tributes poured in from fellow musicians and fans within hours of the announcement, with both NPR and NBC News noting the outpouring reflected her rare status as an artist embraced across generational and political lines.

For a performer who once joked that it costs a lot of money to look this cheap, Parton’s real currency was always generosity, a trait as central to her legacy as any of the songs she leaves behind.