Dolly Parton’s Cause of Death Revealed
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Dolly Parton, Country Music Icon, Dies at 80 After Brief Battle With Cancer

The beloved superstar had spoken about recent health struggles, but did not share her cancer diagnosis.
Dolly Parton, Country Music Icon, Dies at 80 After Brief Battle With Cancer
Jason Kempin/Getty Images; Everyday Health
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Updated on August 26, 2026
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Editor’s Note

This article was originally published on August 25. It has been updated to include new information about Dolly Parton’s cause of death and additional details about her life.

Dolly Parton, the country music legend whose songs, movies, and signature “bling” made her one of the world’s most recognizable entertainers, has died at age 80.

Parton passed away Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, after ”bravely facing a brief battle with cancer,” her publicist said in a statement. She died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones. No details about the type of cancer were released.

Over a career spanning more than six decades, Parton had 25 No. 1 country singles and was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Her best-known songs included “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” and “I Will Always Love You.”

Behind her high-spirited public persona, Parton was also open about some of the health challenges she faced, including endometriosis, infertility, depression, and, later in life, kidney stones and other health problems that forced her to step back from performing.

Recent Health Problems Included Kidney Stones, Immune and Digestive Issues

Parton had spoken about several health issues in the years before her death, although her representatives have not said that any were related to the cancer she was treated for.

Serious concerns about Parton’s health began to surface in 2025 when she postponed, and later canceled, a Las Vegas residency because doctors said she needed several medical procedures.

Parton later said that while her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, was ill, she had neglected her own health. Dean died in March 2025.

In May 2026, Parton said she had been dealing with kidney stones and that her immune and digestive systems had gotten “all out of whack” during the previous several years. She said she was responding well to medication and treatment but wasn’t yet physically ready to return to the stage.

Just four days before her death, Parton told People that she had been going through “hard times with my health.”

Parton Broke Barriers Earlier in Life by Openly Discussing Her Infertility

Parton’s legacy hinges in part on her openness in discussing personal health issues that have affected her throughout her life.

In 1982, Parton canceled a tour while experiencing abdominal pain and bleeding and was later diagnosed with endometriosis, a condition in which tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus and can cause pain and fertility problems.

Parton eventually underwent a partial hysterectomy in the 1980s and learned that she would not be able to have children.

She later spoke openly about infertility. Asked in a 1987 interview why she didn’t have children, Parton said, “I can’t have children physically. I love children.” She said she eventually came to believe that perhaps her life had taken another path that allowed her to reach and entertain other people’s children.

Her love of children also shaped much of her charitable work. In 1995, she founded the Imagination Library, which has distributed more than 200 million books to babies and young children.

In February 2026, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital announced it was becoming Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital as part of a collaboration aimed at expanding pediatric care in the region.

“Every child deserves world-class care, wrapped in kindness and love,” said Parton.

Parton Spoke Candidly About Depression

Parton said the hysterectomy and other struggles during that period took a serious toll on her mental health.

In 2019 podcast, Parton revealed that during the early 1980s she considered suicide.

“I got overweight, and I was going through the change of life, I was having a lot of female problems, I’d been going through a whole lot of family things, just the stress, the heartache,” she said.

Parton credited her religious faith with helping her through the crisis.

Her $1 Million Gift Helped Support Early COVID-19 Vaccine Research

Parton’s philanthropy reached into medicine, where a $1 million gift helped support early COVID-19 vaccine research.

In April 2020, she donated these funds to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, after her friend Naji Abumrad, MD, told her about research underway there to fight the deadly new coronavirus. The donation created the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund.

The money supported early research connected with Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Mark Denison, MD, a Vanderbilt researcher involved in the work, said Parton’s contribution helped fund development of a test researchers used to show that the Moderna vaccine was producing a promising immune response.

Parton Credited Creativity and Faith in Keeping Her Energized

Parton was famously energetic, despite a schedule that would leave many people exhausted.

She said she was typically awake for the day by about 3 a.m. and used the quiet hours between 3 and 7 a.m. for prayer, songwriting, and business. ”I get more work done during that little period of time when the world is calm,” she said.

Parton said she generally slept just three to five hours a night and sometimes took a short nap when she was working. ”I'm energized by just what I do,” she said. ”It’s like, work begets work, energy begets energy.”

Her eating habits were similarly pragmatic rather than rigid. Parton followed a lower-carb diet but still enjoyed Southern comfort foods such as biscuits, gravy, and sausage every once in a while.

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Hall KM et al. Dolly Parton, Music Star, Actor, and Beloved Figure Who Spanned Generations, Dies at 80 of Cancer. Associated Press. August 26, 2026.
  2. Friskics-Warren B. Dolly Parton, Superstar Whose Songs Spoke to Millions, Dies at 80. The New York Times. August 25, 2026.
  3. Callahan C. What Dolly Parton Shared About Her Health, From Kidney Stones to Canceling Vegas Residency. Today. August 25, 2026.
  4. Nelson J. Dolly Parton Spoke About ‘Hard Times with My Health’ 4 Days Before Her Death. People. August 25, 2026.
  5. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. DollyParton.com.
  6. A New Era in Pediatric Care: Dolly Parton Children's Hospital. DollyParton.com. February 26, 2026.
  7. Cramer M. Dolly Parton Donated $1 Million to Help Develop a Coronavirus Vaccine. The New York Times. November 18, 2020.
  8. Stump S. Dolly Parton Shares Her Morning Routine, Including the Breakfast She Cooks Her Husband. Today. November 23, 2021.
  9. Chiu M. Dolly Parton Gets Candid About Her ’Up and Down’ Weight: ’I’m a Hog at Heart’. People. November 20, 2018.
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