As many continue to mourn the unexpected passing of music icon Dolly Parton, 80, her reps have revealed her cause of death. The Country music legend’s team confirmed she passed away from a “brief battle with cancer.” Furthermore, days before her passing, Parton acknowledged her health issues.
RELATED: Country Music Icon Dolly Parton Passes Away At 80-Years-Old
On Tuesday (August 25), Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver first announced her death in an Instagram video posted to her official account. In his video, he said:
“My name is Brin Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, sister, sis, and granny to one generation and gigi to the next. This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality. As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry [Parton] held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it til now. 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, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.”
Hours after news broke, PEOPLE reported that reps for Dolly Parton confirmed she passed from cancer. In the days before her passing, Parton acknowledged her health struggles, but insisted she would keep working through them. PEOPLE reported that she was dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues. This led to her missing events, like Dollywood’s Nightflight Expedition ride opening earlier this month.
Despite her health challenges, and still mourning her husband Carl Dean’s death in March 2025, Parton wanted to continue working on business and philanthropy projects. Parton told PEOPLE:
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ‘80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health…. I had a kidney stone that was causing me a lot of problems, turned out it’d given me an infection, and the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling right this minute, so you need a few days to get better…. 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’! You know me — as I’ve often said — I’ve dreamed myself into a corner and I still have so many things I want to achieve, so I’m gonna keep on working as long as I can to see everything come to life.”
According to her reps, the “Jolene” singer’s death at 80 on Tuesday followed a “brief battle with cancer.” However, the type of cancer was not disclosed. It is learned that Parton was admitted to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville on Friday (August 21), where she died four days later. Her reps statement in part read:
“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. 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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