Live: 'World feels less sparkly': Dolly Parton's legacy remembered

Country music icon Dolly Parton has passed away at the age of 80, her nephew Bryan Seaver confirmed via her official social media channels on Tuesday. Seaver shared that he was representing the Parton and Owens family in making the announcement, describing Dolly as "my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next."

The location of her death is Nashville, Tennessee, though the cause of her demise has not yet been disclosed. Parton had been open about her health challenges for over a year, initially disclosing in September 2025 that she required "a few procedures" which led to the cancellation of a Las Vegas residency shortly thereafter. During Dollywood's 2026 season kick-off in March, she expressed feeling "worn down and worn out," attributing her state to both health issues and the loss of her husband Carl Dean, who had passed away in March 2025 at the age of 82.

Dolly's influence extended beyond music, as she built an extensive entertainment and hospitality empire centered around Dollywood theme park, alongside a prolific career as an actress, producer, and playwright. Her philanthropic efforts through the Dollywood Foundation, particularly her Imagination Library program, have been particularly noteworthy, having distributed more than 308 million free books to children in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, and Australia since its inception in 1995.

Dolly is remembered as a seven-decade career powerhouse and widely regarded as "Saint Dolly" among her fans.