Country music icon Dolly Parton has passed away at the age of 80. Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, delivered the news via a video – a video Dolly herself asked him to make.
Seaver offered no details on her passing, but said she was surely in the "arms of Jesus" and greeted by her beloved husband, Carl Dean, who passed away in March of 2025. Parton herself had hinted at health issues in recent years, issues serious enough to interrupt her performance schedule, but did not disclose any specific illnesses.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton has passed away at the age of 80, her family announced.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 25, 2026
Rest in peace to an American icon. pic.twitter.com/zHiBn5it1j
Hey everyone, my name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I am representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my Aunt Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean. Sister, sis, Aunt 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 held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment, but haven’t truly felt it until 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 for her to meet them in the heavens.
I first went on the road with Dolly as a kid, getting a taste of the road life in the early 1980s. Dolly opened doors, not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible.
Dolly also opened doors for generations of 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 doors she opened made and changed history.
My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you. 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.
Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever.
Dolly was a farmer, just like her Daddy. He farmed the soil; she farmed songs and happiness.
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.
Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly. Aunt Granny. Gigi. May God bless Dolly Parton, and may God bless you all.
She will always love you.
This is a breaking story. RedState will provide more details as they become available.
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