On Tuesday, August 25, country legend Dolly Parton passed away in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80 years old. She had been admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center a few days ago with kidney and autoimmune issues.
On August 25, a few hours after the news of her passing made headlines, her rep told PEOPLE magazine that she passed away following a “brief battle with cancer.”
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched,” the statement said. “Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand.”
“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 statement continued, adding, “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 type of cancer was not disclosed.
She Was Admitted To Vanderbilt University Medical Center Before Her Death
On August 23, she had been admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with kidney and autoimmune issues, as per TMZ. One of her nephews, Bryan Seaver, recorded a video that was posted to her Instagram account on Tuesday.
Parton, whose husband Carl Dean passed away in March 2025, had been open about her own funeral plans. In a 2014 interview published by Entertainment Weekly, she said that she assumed “I Will Always Love You” would be played when she died.
She had written the song as a farewell to Porter Wagoner, and had heard the song at Whitney Houston’s funeral in 2012. “I’m sure they’ll be playing ‘I Will Always Love You’ when I die, just like they did with Whitney Houston,” Parton said at the time. “When they picked her coffin up and started in on that song, I started to cry, and I thought, ‘Oh my Lord.’ That’s when it hit me that she was really gone.”
She Wants Another Song To Be Played At Her Funeral
Although she expects that song to be played at her funeral, she hoped “If We Never Meet Again” would be the one people heard because of its significance to her and her family.
“But there’s a song called ‘If We Never Meet Again,’ ” Parton said. “It’s an old country-gospel church song that talks about if we never meet again this side of heaven, I will meet you on that beautiful shore.”
Her father, Lee Parton, had loved the song, and the family sang it together at his funeral following his death in November 2000. “That was my daddy’s favorite,” Parton said. “We did sing it at his funeral, and I would like it to be sung at mine.”
Dolly Parton Shared A Health Update Days Before Her Passing
On August 21, only four days before she died, PEOPLE magazine revealed that Dolly Parton was gearing up to debut her SongTeller Hotel in Nashville in September 2026, among other projects.
Although she admitted that she had been through some “hard times” with her health, she was focusing on keeping busy. “I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” she said in the interview, which was published last Friday.
“It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” she continued. “But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago. I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI! Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’.”
She revealed that she and her team had been in the “early stages of development” of “avatar performances,” but she didn’t reveal how much progress they had made.
Inside Plans For Dolly Parton’s Museum
She had recently announced plans for her Life of Many Colors Museum in Nashville. According to the museum’s website, it’s the “largest exhibit celebrating her life anywhere in the world.”
“I am so proud of this. We found this location early one morning. I knew I wanted to do something special in Nashville, and until I saw this building, nothing ever hit me as the right thing to do,” she told the publication.
“I saw a copy of my book Songteller in the lobby of what once was this office building. After touring it and seeing the location, I knew this was it. I wanted to join all my Nashville friends downtown, but I didn’t just want it to be another bar,” she continued. “So we found a way to bring in my museum on the third floor and make it really special.”
She was also working on a new line of dog treats in Purina and planned to launch Cup of Ambition Coffee, which was expected to be available online starting in September.
