Watch: Audience gasps as Dolly Parton’s death is announced on stage at 9 to 5 musicalYour support helps us to tell the story
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The news of Dolly Parton’s death has been met with widespread heartbreak after the country music icon died at 80 following a “brief battle” with cancer.
According to TMZ, the singer will be buried in the mausoleum at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville, Tennessee, next to her husband Carl Dean, who died last year.
Singer Miley Cyrus, Parton’s goddaughter, remembered her “Aunt Dolly” as an “angel,” saying, “I will always love her and want to make her proud.
“My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply,” Cyrus said.
Everyone from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to Eminem and Linda Ronstadt paid tribute to Parton, describing her as “the gift that kept on giving” and saying her legacy would be “an everlasting one.” Paul McCartney also remembered Parton, saying her songwriting, singing, and philanthropy were “unrivaled in the world of country music.”
Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver announced the news of her death saying: “Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus.” Her representative later confirmed that she had died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, surrounded by loved ones.
US president Donald Trump ordered flags to fly at half-staff in the US to honor Parton, writing: “This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will.”
Full story: Country legend dies aged 80 after a brief battle with cancer
Her death was announced by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, in an Instagram video posted Tuesday afternoon. The musician’s publicist confirmed Parton’s cancer diagnosis to the Associated Press later in the day, but did not give further details on her illness.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. 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 from her reps to People magazine read.
“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. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.”
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Jacob Stolworthy & Kevin E G Perry26 August 2026 04:08
Ricky Schroder, who played Dolly Parton’s father in biographical TV movies about the singer’s life, has been branded insensitive for questioning her politics in his tribute.
Alongside a photo of himself with Parton, he wrote: “I didnt agree with her advocating for Transgender & Covid Vaccine support…but Loved her anyway. Thank you for choosing me Dolly to be your Movie Daddy.”
Ricky Schroder with Dolly Parton in 2015 (Getty Images)
Jacob Stolworthy27 August 2026 09:00
Dolly Parton secretly recorded a song for a time capsule – which won’t be opened until 2046
Dolly Parton secretly recorded new music, which has been sealed inside a time capsule that won’t be opened until the year 2046.
The track, titled “My Place in History”, was placed by the late queen of country in a wooden box at Dollywood’s DreamMore resort, which opened back in 2015.
In her book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, Parton reveals that the resort’s staff have been specifically instructed to leave the box unopened until the date she specified: what would have been her 100th birthday on 19 January 2046.
Jacob Stolworthy27 August 2026 08:45
Vin Diesel shares surprising Dolly Parton tribute
The most unexpected tribute to Dolly Parton has rolled in from gruff-voiced Fast & Furious star Vin Diesel, who has shared a tender rendition of her hit “I Will Always Love You”.
Jacob Stolworthy27 August 2026 08:30
I interviewed Dolly Parton – this is what she taught me
The Independent’s Music Editor Roisin O’Connor writes…
I don’t often get nervous interviewing people, but Dolly Parton was someone I’d idolised since I was a child, driving my family crazy with off-key renditions of “9 to 5” and “Jolene”. Alongside my grandma and Shania Twain, she was one of the three big role models in my life. She was the queen of country music and so much more: a pioneer, a business genius, an exceptional songwriter and storyteller, a producer, a benefactor… in short: a one-of-a-kind woman. As someone who has often been made to feel as though I am “too much” – something I know many women will relate to – Parton seemed to exist to tell you to be more.
O’Connor goes on to say…
When I asked Parton how she wanted to be remembered, I thought she might say as a songwriter, as she had in previous interviews. Instead, she said she wanted to be remembered “as somebody who took her work serious, but not herself. Someone who brought books to children all over the world. For the fact that I managed to make a living doing something I love to do. And as a caring, giving, working girl.”
I interviewed Dolly Parton – this is what she taught me
The queen of country has died aged 80, leaving behind a phenomenal legacy. Roisin O’Connor remembers interviewing her idol in 2023 and the lessons she taught her then and throughout her life, from leading with kindness to being ‘more’ when people try to tell you to be ‘less’
Jacob Stolworthy27 August 2026 08:25
The devastated Dolly Parton tribute acts who have to keep on singing
Dolly Parton tribute acts have revealed that they’ve received a huge number of requests for performances and interviews since the “9 to 5” singer’s death, and have been fielding calls and emails while processing their own grief over the country music icon’s shock passing.
Jacob Stolworthy27 August 2026 08:15
Dolly Parton’s funeral arrangements revealed
According to TMZ, the singer will be buried in a mausoleum at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville, Tennessee, next to her husband Carl Dean, who died last year. It will be a private ceremony.
Jacob Stolworthy27 August 2026 08:10
Why scientists are mourning Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton’s death has prompted tributes from scientists who remember a less familiar side of her legacy: her contributions to research, public health, and education.
Catherine Heymans, the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, told Nature that Parton had “provided the soundtrack for my PhD” and was “gratefully acknowledged as a key contributor” in her thesis.
World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also called Parton “an exceptional artist, a true champion of kindness, and ambassador of science and public health”.
Her best-known contribution to research came in March 2020, when she gave $1m to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to establish the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund. The money helped support early work on an experimental mRNA vaccine that eventually became Moderna’s Covid vaccine, and the fund is acknowledged in the first published phase I trial report.
Parton raised $500,000 for LeConte Medical Center in Sevier County, Tennessee, which opened in 2010 with a dedicated Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services. She gave another $1m to Vanderbilt in 2022 for paediatric infectious-disease research.
In February 2026, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital was renamed Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital after an undisclosed “generational” gift from Parton that is funding a new paediatric residency programme, rural telehealth and the recruitment of medical specialists.
Shahana Yasmin27 August 2026 08:00
Five-minute bell toll marks Dolly Parton’s death in her hometown
A historic bell in Dolly Parton’s home county rang for five minutes on Wednesday in tribute to the singer, one day after her death.
The 1896 bell atop the Sevier County Courthouse was tolled at noon as part of a Day of Mourning declared across the county. Sevier County and the towns of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Pittman Center joined the county school system in the tribute.
The Dolly Parton Statue on the front lawn of the Sevier County Courthouse (Getty)
Fans attend a moment of silence at The Dolly Parton Statue on the front lawn of the Sevier County Courthouse (Getty)
Schools across the county also observed a minute of silence at noon, and residents and businesses were asked to do the same.
The tribute was particularly significant in Sevier County, where Parton was born, raised, and attended high school. She grew up in the nearby community of Locust Ridge and remained closely connected to the area throughout her life, later transforming its tourism industry through Dollywood.
Shahana Yasmin27 August 2026 07:45
Dolly Parton’s work will continue with a slate of posthumous projects
Dolly Parton’s team has revealed the scale of the projects she was developing before her death, from an on-screen avatar to new television series and a biopic.
“Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked, for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come,” Parton’s longtime manager Danny Nozell told The Los Angeles Times.
The immediate schedule includes Dolly Dolls, launching online on 15 September, and Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop in Cornersville, Tennessee, which will mark National Truck Driver Appreciation Week from 13 September.
Guests can begin staying at the SongTeller Hotel in Nashville on 14 September, ahead of its 29 September grand opening. The hotel will also house the 20,000-square-foot Life of Many Colors Museum, while Cup of Ambition Coffee launches online that day before reaching shops in spring 2027.
(Reuters)
Other projects include Dolly on the Holly for Christmas 2026, a Kendra Scott 9 to 5 jewellery collection in January 2027, Dolly’s Dog Treats in early 2027 and Dolly Bedding & Home Decor in the third quarter.
Her Broadway musical begins previews in December and opens on 19 January next year, what would’ve been Parton’s 81st birthday.
Beyond those dated projects, Parton’s team says a musical documentary, biopic, docuseries, scripted series, Dolly avatar show and animated Billy the Kid series are also in development.
Nozell said fans can trust that future projects released through official Dolly channels carry her “personal stamp”.
Shahana Yasmin27 August 2026 07:30