Overview
- The Parton family announced Dolly Parton’s death in a video released by her nephew Bryan Seaver that the family says she requested years earlier, a message published on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.
- The family has not given a medical cause for her death and reports that a TMZ story saying she was hospitalized for renal and autoimmune problems days earlier has not been confirmed by relatives.
- Her family asked for a small private funeral for immediate relatives and requested that people make donations to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library instead of sending flowers.
- In the months before her death Parton reduced public appearances, canceled a Las Vegas residency in May 2026, and told People she was recovering from health problems she had partly neglected while caring for her late husband Carl Dean.
- Parton leaves a seven‑decade career as a songwriter, actress, businessowner and philanthropist, and tributes from artists and public figures have poured in while her charities and Dollywood are expected to be focal points of her public legacy.