Dolly Parton Said It Herself: Everything's Gonna Be Alright

Published Aug 25, 2026, 5:38 PM EDT Joe Schmidt is the Executive Editor of Movies at Collider assisting the brilliant team of writers and editors. In addition to working with the editorial team, he helps assist leadership in managment duties. He has written news, reviews, and features, as well as conducted interviews, hosted podcasts, covered red carpets and set visits, and produced major events including San Diego Comic-Con and Star Wars Celebration. A certified geek, Joe grew up loving Star Wars and the X-Men and can talk about both franchises for hours. Dolly Parton has passed away. A day that was once unthinkable has tragically arrived, and it's hitting a lot harder than anyone could have anticipated. Parton's family announced her death on August 25th, 2026, in a manner that reflected the grace, wisdom, and love she exhibited every single day. It goes without saying that Parton is a towering figure in the world. Her art, her reputation, and her kindness have been well documented throughout her 80 years on this planet. Countless people know her lyrics by heart, even if they don't know she wrote or sang those songs. Her contributions to film, television, and the stage are nearly unparalleled. With just her pen and voice, she affected people for the better across all walks of life. But this isn't about paying tribute to her art — this is about her humanity. So while it's easy to praise her songwriting, perhaps peppered with an anecdote about how she wrote two of the greatest country songs of all time in the same night (look it up), now is the time to talk about Dolly as a human, a towering and incomparable paragon of love and acceptance. She seemed unreal in her effortless persona, exuding an intentional warmth in every action she took. Dolly Parton Was Much More Than a Songwriter I cannot talk about Dolly the artist right now, because Dolly the human outshines every one of her great accomplishments in the culture. I moved to Tennessee nearly a decade ago, and while I admired and respected her work before relocating, I was ignorant of her stature in the state she was born in. But after a short time, it was clear how much she resonated among the citizens of this state. No matter your opinions, your politics, you loved Dolly. Everyone did. Her contributions to the wellbeing and education of our state's youth were unparalleled. Through her nonprofit organization The Dollywood Foundation, she created and funded Imagination Factory, which provided free books to children in elementary schools across the state of Tennessee. For over 30 years, this initiative shipped free books to countless children across the state, regardless of their economic status. The Dollywood Foundation has since expanded Imagination Factory's efforts to Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, in addition to providing scholarships for high school students with college aspirations. The nonprofit organization also gave aid to victims of 2016 wildfires in the state, offering funds for those who lost their homes or needed repairs. Tennessee, unfortunately, saw even more natural disasters in the following years, with citizens suffering devastating effects from tornadoes and hurricanes. Parton was never lagging far behind, continuing her philanthropic efforts to those who were affected. It was apparent that her love for her community was always at the forefront of her mind, and it's hard to fail when Dolly Parton has your back. The people of this state have always been resilient, but Parton helped them prosper in the face of tragedy and ruin. Pay Tribute to the Genius That Is Dolly So you can play your favorite Dolly song in her honor, you can watch your favorite movie, take a trip to her theme park Dollywood — hell, go start binge-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show that's only possible because of her production company, Sandollar Productions. Do all of these things, celebrate the woman who provided countless laughs and tears by guiding us through the human experience. But the best way to pay tribute to this towering titan of a woman, this proud daughter of Tennessee, is with kindness. Help out your neighbor, lend an ear to a friend, hug your loved ones, and show understanding and respect to those who need it most. Division continues to plague us, almost at a cellular level, but Parton raged against that very concept with every calculated move she made. It feels unreal and hollow to type these words, because Dolly Parton was such an impervious fixture in the culture of my community, but it was not limited to just my town or state. Speaking to friends across the country, it's clear that her impact resonated beyond state lines. She was a ray of light, casting out the overwhelming darkness that seems to increase every day for so many across the globe. If you take anything from Parton, please take that. Her exuberant desire to improve the lives of everyone around her shouldn't just be admired, it should be replicated. We might not ever get another Dolly Parton, but if we all put in a little effort together, we might be able to match her brightness. I know I wrote that this wasn't about her art, her music, but it's only fitting to end with a reference to one of her songs written when the COVID-19 epidemic began (an epidemic she personally helped fight — look it up) that has a different impact now that she's gone: Everything's gonna be alright when life is good again.