From CB: We are so sad to report that Dolly Parton has passed away at just 80. This comes as a huge shock and is such a loss. She was an icon, a treasure, a philanthropist and a light and she will be so missed. She was universally loved and respected and we are still processing this news. We will replace this post with a better tribute for her a little later today.
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Last September, Dolly Parton abruptly canceled a Dollywood appearance due to kidney stones. Several weeks later, she worried fans when she postponed her Las Vegas residency, citing health issues she’d neglected while caring for her late husband Carl Dean, who passed away in March 2025. Dolly canceled the residency altogether in May, but reassured fans that she was on the road to recovery.

Although she’s stepped back from performing, Dolly has kept busy behind the scenes. She’s been working on a Nashville museum celebrating her life, opening the SongTeller Hotel in Nashville, and launching both a coffee brand and pet line. Earlier this month, she made a video appearance at the dedication of a new Dollywood ride, where she shared she couldn’t be there in person because her health issues were making her dizzy and dehydrated. In a recent interview with People, Dolly talked about everything she has in the works and gave fans a health update. From People:

Dolly Parton, 80, tells PEOPLE on Friday, Aug. 21, that even though she has recently been through some “hard times with my health,” she’s still keeping busy. “I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” she says, referring to caring for her late husband Carl Thomas Dean, who died in March 2025 at age 82.

She also notes that this isn’t the first time she’s had to deal with health concerns, recalling a period in the early 1980s when she was “down for several months with female issues.”

“It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” she says. “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’.”

Parton says that while her tour life may look different than the past, she’s working on a new way to give fans a musical experience. She and her team have been collaborating with companies who create “avatar performances,” Parton says, adding that they are in the “early stages of development.”

The update comes one week after Parton appeared via video for the opening of her amusement park Dollywood’s newest ride, NightFlight Expedition, instead of in person. In the clip, which featured Parton with butterfly wings flapping behind her, the “Jolene” singer said that her doctors had advised her against making the trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

“I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I’ve had a few little health issues and sometimes I get a little dizzy and I get dehydrated. And I’m dehydrated,” she said, according to fan video shared to social media on Aug. 14. “So my Nashville doctor has kind of clipped my wings, saying, ‘You ain’t traveling this week.’ So I guess if your doctor tells you, ‘You ain’t traveling this week,’ you ain’t traveling this week.”

Despite the ongoing health issues, Parton remains as ambitious as ever. She also recently announced plans for her forthcoming Life of Many Colors Museum in Nashville, which will offer fans the opportunity to get up close and personal with the country legend’s life and stories. It is the “largest exhibit celebrating her life anywhere in the world,” according to the museum’s website.

As if she weren’t busy enough, Parton is working on a new line of dog treats with Purina, and is particularly excited about the launch of Cup of Ambition Coffee. Created in partnership with Community Coffee, Parton says the project has been on her mind for the past four decades.

[From People]

I hate that Dolly’s having prolonged health issues and hope whatever’s going on isn’t too serious. May her positivity rub off on all of us. As always, I’m so impressed by her work ethic. She puts me to shame. When I’m 80, I hope to spend my time reading books, playing the hard level of Pips, and traveling. She is a national treasure who must be protected at all costs. We’re so lucky to get to live in the same world that she does.

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