Dolly Parton privately battled cancer before her death at 80, the country icon’s team confirms

Dolly Parton had been privately battling cancer before her death at the age of 80 on Tuesday.

Parton’s representatives confirmed the country superstar’s death in a statement to People, sharing that the Jolene singer died following a ‘brief battle with cancer.’

They did not disclose what type of cancer it was.

‘Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched,’ the statement read.

‘After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.’

‘Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,’ the statement went on.

Dolly Parton had been privately battling cancer before her death at the age of 80 on Tuesday; Pictured in 2016 

‘Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.’

The legendary country singer’s death was confirmed Tuesday in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also acted as her head of security.

She died Tuesday morning after being admitted Friday to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems, according to TMZ.

Parton’s loved ones began racing to Nashville upon hearing news of her hospitalization, but not all were able to reach her while she was alive.

‘This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,’ Seaver said.

He hailed his aunt for having ‘lived in the light’ and said she was now ‘in the arms of Jesus’ and the company of her late husband Carl Dean, as well as her parents and ‘countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.’

Parton’s representatives confirmed the country superstar’s death in a statement to People, sharing that the Jolene singer died following a ‘brief battle with cancer’; Pictured in 2025

‘After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,’ the statement read; Parton is seen in Nashville in March 2025 

Concerns about Parton’s health had loomed for months, with the pop culture icon frequently dispelling her fans’ fears; Parton pictured 2023

The singer’s death was confirmed in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also served as her head of security

Parton, who is often referred to as the Queen of Country, enjoyed an illustrious music career that spanned an incredible six decades and was arguably best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5.

Her passing came after months of health woes that saw her pull out of a string of public appearances, fueling fan fears for her wellbeing.

Seaver fondly recalled joining Parton on tour when he was a child in the 1980s, sharing that she ‘opened doors not just for me but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible.’

He characterized her as ‘a farmer, just like her daddy. He farmed the soil. She farmed songs and happiness. Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.’

Family insiders indicated that a private service for close friends and relations will be held in Nashville within the next few days.

In an interview published just four days before her death, Parton had declared she still had ‘so many things I want to achieve’ and vowed to continue ‘working as long as I can to see everything come to life,’ via People.

She also admitted she had recently been having ‘hard times with my health.’

‘I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,’ she said, referring to her late husband, who passed away in March 2025.

Parton looked energized and happy in her last public appearance before her passing, as she discussed her ongoing ‘health issues’ with fans 11 days ago

Aside from video appearances, Parton was last seen out and about on June 24 when she attended the grand opening of her truck stop, Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop

Parton is pictured in her final Instagram post, which was uploaded August 12

Concerns about Parton’s health had loomed for months, with the pop culture icon frequently dispelling her fans’ fears.

She pulled out of multiple public appearances, including a residency in Las Vegas and the opening of a new ride, NightFlight Expedition, at her Dollywood theme park.

The star was supposed to attend the ride’s grand opening on August 14. Instead, a video recording of the star addressing her fans was shared on a screen at the park, which is now regarded as her last public appearance.

‘So my Nashville doctor has kind of clipped my wings, saying, “You ain’t traveling this week.” So I guess if your doctor tells you, “You ain’t traveling this week,” you ain’t traveling this week,’ Parton said in the video message.

The songstress, donning a bright pink top adorned in gems and enormous butterfly wings, looked energized and happy as she discussed her ongoing ‘health issues’ with fans.

‘I’m still in Nashville, and I’m sorry about that,’ she said in the clip. ‘I’m supposed to be there in person like we planned.’

She explained that she ‘sometimes gets a little dizzy’ and ‘dehydrated,’ which is why she couldn’t be there in person.

‘I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I’ve had a few little health issues and sometimes I get a little dizzy and I get dehydrated. And I’m dehydrated,’ she said.

Parton, often referred to as the Queen of Country, enjoyed an illustrious music career that spanned an incredible six decades

She reassured her fans that she was still hard at work on projects like her new museum, Life of Many Colors, in Nashville, her new hotel and Broadway show, Dolly: A True American Musical.

She also insisted that ‘all was going well on the medical end of things.’

Earlier this year, Parton told her fans that she was responding to medication, but the treatment made her feel ‘a little swimmy-headed,’ and she needed time to heal before getting back on stage.

Last October, the hitmaker’s younger sister, Freida Parton, worried fans when she asked for prayers for Parton.

However, hours later Freida returned to Facebook with an update, sharing she didn’t mean to ‘scare anyone’ and adding that Parton has ‘been a little under the weather.’

She added that it wasn’t her intention to ‘make it sound so serious’ and that she made her earlier public appeal simply because she believes in ‘the power of prayer.’

Parton’s death was greeted with a flood of tributes, including from Reba McEntire, Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, Sarah Jessica Parker, Pedro Pascal, Khloe Kardashian, Hillary Clinton and more.

President Donald Trump also paid tribute to Parton and ordered American flags lowered nationwide for one week in her honor.

The songstress died just over a year after her husband, whom she had been married to for nearly 60 years.

Parton, seen performing in London in 1983, won eleven Grammy Awards and three Emmy Awards in her lifetime

Parton’s famous hits include Jolene, 9 to 5, and I Will Always Love You  

In her tribute at the time, Parton reflected on the ‘many wonderful years’ they spent together as she expressed her deep love for Carl and thanked fans for their prayers.

‘Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,’ she said. ‘Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.’

Parton and Dean first met at a laundromat in Nashville in 1964, when she was just 18. They married in 1966, and Dean remained a constant and supportive figure for Parton behind the scenes.

The fourth of 12 children, Parton was born in Pittman Center, Tennessee, on January 19, 1946.

She and her siblings – Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Bobby Lee, Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randel Huston ‘Randy,’ Larry Gerald, twins Estel Floyd and Freida Estelle, and Rachel Ann – were raised in the Great Smoky Mountains where they slept on beds made of straw and lived with no running water, gas or electricity.

Having developed a love of music at an early age, Parton sang frequently on the local radio and made television appearances in East Tennessee as a child before releasing her first single, Puppy Love, at the age of 13.

Parton gushed about her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean, in her last interview, admitting that she had not paid attention to some of her health problems while caring for him 

Dean died in March 2025 at the age of 82. They were married just two months short of 59 years

In 2008, Parton told NPR that her 1973 song Jolene was partly inspired by a local bank teller who used to flirt with her late husband.

Parton’s 1974 hit, I Will Always Love You, was written about the experience of cutting ties with her former business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner as she set her sights on pursuing a solo career.

The song reached the top spot of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart: first in June 1974, then again in October 1982.

Parton famously refused to let Elvis Presley record his own version after his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, demanded she sign over half of the publishing rights.

She was vindicated in her determination to retain the rights when Whitney Houston recorded the song for her 1992 film The Bodyguard, whereupon it became an thunderous international hit that carried the soundtrack album to 18 times platinum.

Article source: https://www.dailymail.com/tvshowbiz/article-16080067/Dolly-Partons-cause-death-revealed.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490