Dolly Parton’s Cause of Death Has Been Revealed

Country music legend Dolly Parton has died at age 80, and her team has now confirmed how she passed.

The heartbreaking news was first shared on Tuesday by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, in a video posted to social media. Seaver, who has served as Dolly’s head of security for more than two decades — a role his father Larry held before him — explained that this was an announcement Dolly herself had asked him to deliver, long before he ever expected to actually have to do it.

He described the moment as both an honor and a heavy one, noting that whatever sadness people feel now belongs to those left behind, not to Dolly. He shared that he believes she is now reunited with loved ones who came before her, including her late husband, Carl, and her parents.

She Had Spoken About Her Health Just Days Before

Only days before she passed, Dolly had opened up publicly about ongoing health struggles, referencing them in interviews and video messages over the previous year. She’d acknowledged that she hadn’t been paying close attention to her own health while caring for her husband Carl in his final months, and pointed out this wasn’t the first serious health setback she’d faced in her life — recalling a difficult stretch in the early 1980s dealing with both a health scare and her weight.

Now, her team has confirmed to PEOPLE that Dolly’s death came after a brief battle with cancer. The specific type of cancer has not been disclosed publicly.

A Career Like No Other

Dolly Parton’s rise to fame began in 1967 through her work alongside Porter Wagoner, and from there she became one of the most iconic figures in country music history. Over the course of her career, she wrote and released thousands of songs — including genre-defining hits like “Jolene” and “9 to 5” — and landed 25 No. 1 singles on the Billboard country charts, along with a long list of Grammy wins.

Beyond music, she built a career as an actress and became closely tied to Dollywood, the Tennessee theme park she helped bring to life. She was equally well known for her philanthropy, especially her long-running commitment to education and healthcare initiatives that reached far beyond the entertainment industry.

Dolly was married to Carl Dean from 1966 until his death in 2025 — a partnership that lasted nearly six decades.

Remembering a Legacy That Touched Generations

Fans, friends, and family are now mourning a woman whose voice, generosity, and spirit shaped the lives of people well outside the world of country music. While her passing marks the end of an extraordinary life, her legacy is far from over — it lives on in her songs, in the causes she championed, and in the millions of people she touched along the way.