Dolly Parton didn’t want to worry anyone. 🦋
On August 14, 2026, she was unable to attend the opening of a new attraction at Dollywood due to health problems, but she sent a video from Nashville to reassure her followers. With her signature butterfly wings, she said she was getting better and hoped to return soon. It ended up being one of her last public messages.
Days later, she said she was dealing with health problems she had put aside while caring for her husband, Carl Dean, who died in 2025. On August 25, her nephew Bryan Seaver announced that Dolly had died at age 80. Her team later confirmed that she had faced a brief battle with cancer.
Seaver, who was her head of security for more than two decades, revealed that years ago Dolly had asked him to be the one to announce her death to the world. Her family will now say goodbye to her in a private ceremony, just as she wanted. ❤️🩹