Dolly Parton Dies at 80, Trump Orders Flags Lowered Nationwide

Dolly Parton died Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80. Her family confirmed the death in a statement, and her nephew Bryan Seaver, who served as her head of security for more than two decades, announced it in a prerecorded video posted to her Instagram account. He gave no cause of death. "It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness, but sadness lies with us, not with Dolly," Seaver said. "Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus." The family's statement, carried by multiple outlets including CBS News and The Daily Beast, said Parton died "peacefully" and asked that donations in lieu of flowers go to her Imagination Library literacy nonprofit. ### A career built on grit, not luck Parton was born January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children raised in a one-room cabin with no electricity or running water, according to the Los Angeles Times. Her father, Robert Lee Parton, was a tobacco farmer who never learned to read. Her mother, Avie Lee Owens, was a preacher's daughter. She wrote her first song around age six, an ode to a corncob doll called "Little Tiny Tasseltop," according to CNBC. By 13 she was performing at the Grand Ole Opry, introduced by Johnny Cash as "a little girl here from up in East Tennessee," per Breitbart and the Times of India. Over roughly seven decades, Parton recorded 49 studio albums, wrote an estimated 3,000 songs, and sold more than 100 million records, according to the New York Post. She won 10 Grammy Awards, two Academy Award nominations for original song, a Primetime Emmy, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Her songwriting produced country and pop standards: "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors," "9 to 5," and "I Will Always Love You," which Whitney Houston's 1992 cover held at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks. ### More than a singer Parton built a business empire that outlasted trends in Nashville. She invested in what became Dollywood, the Tennessee theme park that reopened under her name in 1986 and, according to a 2021 Tennessee state study cited by the Daily Wire, generated significant regional jobs and tourism revenue. She acted in "9 to 5" alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" with Burt Reynolds, and "Steel Magnolias" alongside Julia Roberts and Sally Field. She earned Oscar nominations for the songs "9 to 5" and "Travelin' Thru." Her philanthropy centered on Imagination Library, a nonprofit she founded in 1996 that mails free books to preschool-age children across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and Ireland, according to Al Jazeera. In 2020 she donated $1 million to vaccine research at Vanderbilt University, an early contribution that helped fund Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine development, CNBC reported. She turned down a proposed statue in Nashville in 2021, telling reporters, "Given all that's going on in the world, I don't think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time," according to CNBC. ### Health decline preceded her death Parton had been open, if vague, about declining health for roughly a year before she died. Her sister Freida Parton asked for prayers on social media last October, ABC News reported, though Parton pushed back at the time, saying "Everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you?" In May, she canceled a planned Caesars Palace residency in Las Vegas, citing kidney stones and immune and digestive issues, telling fans in a video that she was "responding really well to meds and treatments," per NBC News. Ten days before her death, she canceled an in-person appearance at Dollywood, saying her doctor advised against travel. She told People magazine on August 21, just four days before she died, that she had health issues she "didn't pay attention to" while caring for her husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025 after 59 years of marriage. Her older brother, Coy "Denver" Parton, also died earlier this year, in June, at age 82, according to the Daily Beast. ### Reaction, and a rare presidential gesture President Trump ordered American flags lowered nationwide for one week starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, calling Parton's death "a true loss for millions of people" and writing on Truth Social, "There has never been anyone like her, and never will," according to Fox News and Euronews. Flag-lowering for a private citizen who never held public office or military rank is unusual and typically reserved for sitting or former presidents, military leaders, or figures of extraordinary national significance. Tributes came from across the entertainment industry. Julia Roberts called her "a magical and joyous human." Sally Field said, "If there are truly angels on earth, then we have just lost one." Reba McEntire and Linda Ronstadt, who recorded the 1987 "Trio" album with Parton and Emmylou Harris, both issued statements mourning her, per CBS News. Parton's nephew said she had asked that "I Will Always Love You" serve as her final farewell to fans, according to Euronews. A small private service for immediate family was planned, with no public memorial announced as of Tuesday evening. Parton is survived by her extended family, including her sister Freida and numerous nieces and nephews who worked alongside her for decades. No public memorial date had been set as of Tuesday evening.