LEGENDARY country singer Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, her family has said.
Her nephew, Brian Seaver, revealed in an Instagram video on Tuesday that Parton had died as he said his family felt "great sadness" but also "absolute pride".
He said in the video: "My name is Brian Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I'm representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my Aunt Dolly Rebecca Parker Dean.
"Sister, sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next. This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorb 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 honour, an honour 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."
Seaver added: "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, before her entire family to reach the potential we didn't even know was possible.
"Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, dreamers from every walk of life, and across every continent."
Seaver went on to say Parton would "forever stand as an inspiration" after devoting more than 65 years to the music industry.
Born in Tennessee on January 19, 1946, Parton went on to record many country classics, including 9-5, Jolene, I Will Always Love You and Islands in the Stream.
Parton shared an update on her health on Friday, acknowledging her recent decline after the March 2025 death of her husband, Carl Dean, whom she spent 60 years married to.
He had been diagnosed with alzheimer’s disease in 2019 and died at the age of 82.
The singer had previously had to bow out of several scheduled shows planned for December.
Parton started her music career as a child performing for local radio stations, and recorded her first single, Puppy Love, aged just 11 years old.
She then went on to sign her first record deal with Monument Records as a singer-songwriter aged 19.
Paton went on to dominate the US country charts in the late 60s and went on to release her debut album Hello, I’m Dolly.
The musician went on to write I Will Always Love You – one of the defining love songs of the 20th century – as a goodbye to her former creative partner Porter Wagoner, who hired her to be his sidekick on The Porter Wagoner Show and helped her land a record deal.
The song became a blockbuster hit when Whitney Houston recorded a cover for the 1992 film The Bodyguard.
Parton’s own film career began in 1980 when she starred in 9 To 5 with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.
Her theme song for the movie became her first number one single on the Hot 100 chart in the US.
Her other notable film appearances include The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas alongside Burt Reynolds, Rhinestone with Sylvester Stallone, and Steel Magnolias with Julia Roberts and Sally Field.
Her 1973 track Jolene is widely considered to be one of country music’s greatest songs.
It was covered by Beyonce on her 2024 album Cowboy Carter, which won the album of the year Grammy.
