Overview
- Dolly Parton died on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, in Tennessee after a short struggle with cancer and was surrounded by loved ones at the time of her death.
- Her sister Stella said Parton had been willing to try experimental cancer treatments if doctors felt there were no other options, though representatives have not disclosed whether such trials took place or the type of cancer she had.
- The family asked that donations be made to Parton’s Imagination Library instead of sending flowers, a program she founded in 1995 that had distributed over 330 million books by 2026 and that the Library of Congress called a titan of children’s literacy.
- Parton used her wealth and platform for public-health efforts, including a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2020 that supported COVID-19 research connected to studies that informed the Moderna vaccine response.
- Her six-decade career combined songwriting and performance—anchored by songs such as “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “9 to 5”—with roughly 100 million records sold, about 3,000 songs composed, 11 Grammys, and business ventures such as Dollywood.