Key Takeaways
- Dolly Parton says she neglected her health while caring for her late husband, Carl Dean, and that grief after his March 2025 death worsened her physical condition.
- Parton is treating immune and digestive issues, kidney stones, dizziness, and dehydration, but says she is "responding really well" and improving every day.
- Though her health setbacks forced her to cancel her Las Vegas residency, Parton says she is "still healin'" and "still workin'" on a Nashville museum, hotel, and Broadway musical.
Dolly Parton has given fans an update on her health, which she said she neglected while caring for her husband before his death last year.
While speaking with People about an upcoming museum celebrating her life in Nashville, Parton revealed that she is responding well to treatment but acknowledged the toll the past couple of years have taken on her body. "I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn't pay attention to when I was watching over Carl," she said.
Carl Dean died on March 3, 2025, at age 82. Parton has tied her physical decline directly to that grief and the year of emotional milestones that followed. "After going through a year of firsts, I mean the holidays, and especially our wedding anniversary, and the date of his death, that was hard for me," she said.
"My immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past [couple of] years, and they're working real hard on rebuilding and strengthening those," she explained. She also noted recurring kidney stones as a separate, longstanding issue, joking that doctors "dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee."
Dizziness and dehydration have added to her list of concerns. When Parton appeared via pre-recorded video at the August 14 opening of Dollywood's NightFlight Expedition roller coaster rather than in person, she explained that her Nashville doctor had "clipped my wings" and told her she was not traveling that week.
The Vegas residency she had been building toward did not survive the setbacks. Parton canceled Dolly: Live in Vegas at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace earlier this year.
Regardless of what’s going on, Parton revealed that she's optimistic about the future. "The good news is I'm responding really well to meds and treatments, and I'm improving every day," she said. "I have great doctors, and they assure me that everything is treatable."
Parton also pushed back against the volume of speculation surrounding her condition. "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'."
Parton’s discussion about her health came as she shared updates on several upcoming projects, including Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum. First announced in 2025, the museum is now scheduled to open in October on the third floor of her SongTeller Hotel, which is set to welcome guests in downtown Nashville beginning in September.
The hotel will also feature two live-music venues, Parton's Live and Jolene's, as well as the SongTeller Cafe. Parton is also bringing DOLLY: A True Original Musical to Broadway, with previews beginning December 7 at the St. James Theatre ahead of its official opening on January 19, 2027.
