Key Takeaways
- Country music icon Dolly Parton has died at 80 after a seven-decade career.
- Her nephew and longtime head of security, Bryan Seaver, announced her death on Instagram, saying, “Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus.”
- Seaver said Parton inspired generations of artists and dreamers, and her family and team will work to preserve her legacy.
Dolly Parton has died at 80 years old.
According to TMZ, Parton was admitted to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Thursday night (August 27) due to kidney and autoimmune issues. She passed away on Tuesday morning (August 25).
The country icon’s death was announced by her nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver, in a video shared to her Instagram.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” said Seaver in the video linked below. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father, Larry, held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it until now.”
He continued, “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus.”
Seaver spoke about growing up on the road with Parton through the early ‘80s, noting that she inspired “singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent.”
“By her example, we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn't open, and the door she opened made and changed history. My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you,” he added. “She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family, whether you liked it or not.”
Seavers noted that his family and Parton’s team will “work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever.”
“Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest,” he concluded. “Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly and Granny Gigi. May God bless Dolly Parton and may God bless you all. She will always love you.”
Parton has been open about her recent health struggles. In a recently published interview with People, the singer said she was dealing with “some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to” while caretaking for her husband Carl, who died in March 2025.
In a video shared to her social media accounts in May, Parton said her immune system and digestive system “got all out of whack” over the past few years and that her doctors were working to mend the issues.
Parton, a 10-time Grammy winner, was known for hits like “I Will Always Love You,” “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and countless more. Her final studio album, Rockstar, was released in November 2023.
