Dolly Parton died of cancer after a year of health concerns she publicly dismissed

Dolly Parton died at 80 on August 25 after a "brief battle with cancer," her representatives told People, as reported by Deadline on August 26. She was admitted to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center on August 21. The type of cancer was not disclosed. A year of health issues included a cancelled Las Vegas residency and her October 2025 insistence she was "not dying."