Dolly Parton's Cause of Death Revealed

Dolly Parton's Cause of Death RevealedMore details have come to light surrounding Dolly Parton's passing. Reps for the "Jolene" singer—who died at age 80 on Aug. 25, four days after she was hospitalized in Nashville, Tenn.—shared that her cause of death was cancer. "After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer," her team said in a statement to MS NOW, "Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones." Her reps also reflected on her life and legacy in their statement. “Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched," their statement read. "Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand." The statement continued, “Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact." Her nephew Bryan Seaver shared the devastating news about the death of the country music legend—whose husband of 58 years Carl Dean died in March 2025—while reflecting on her sparkling legacy. "Dolly opened doors not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn't even know was possible," he explained in an Aug. 25 Instagram video. "Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent."Pete Still/Redferns"By her example, we believed that anything was possible," he added. "She never saw a door she couldn't open, and the doors she opened made and changed history." Although Parton remained steadfast in her music career—including a cameo on Beyoncé's Grammy-winning 2024 country album Cowboy Carter and her 2026 song "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" with Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Reba McEntire and Queen Latifah—she had to step away from the stage to focus on her health in recent years. Parton confirmed she was postponing her Las Vegas residency due to health challenges. As she explained in a September 2025 Instagram video, in which she detailed her hopes to see the project come to light, "I am not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that I want you to see, and the show that you deserve to see." Miller Mobley/NBC via Getty ImagesThree months later, she skipped her 80th birthday celebration concert in January at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. She did, however, wish her fans the "best night ever" as they came "together again this year to celebrate my big ol' birthday with some of my songs." The "9 to 5" singer continued to make adjustments to her live appearances, announcing in May that she made the decision to cancel her Vegas residency. "I'm responding really well to meds and treatments, and I'm improving every day," she explained on Instagram. "The bad news is it's going to take me a little while before I'm up to stage performance level, because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say."Ian Gavan/Getty ImagesThe Imagination Library founder had noted that she developed kidney stones, noting that "they dig more stones out of me here than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee." The Grammy winner assured fans not to worry, emphasizing that she had received pitch-perfect care during her health battle. "I have great doctors, and I'm doing really well," she shared, "and they assure me that everything I have is treatable, so I'm going with that." And Parton appeared to be in good spirits a month later, however, while attending the opening of Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop, a rest area off the I-65 highway in Cornersville. (E! and MS NOW are both part of Versant Media.) For a closer look at Parton's rhinestone-encrusted legacy, keep reading.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images1955Nancy Barr Brandon/MediaPunch/Shutterstock1960Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images1965Nancy Barr Brandon/MediaPunch/ShutterstockLate 1960sMichael Ochs Archives/Getty Images1974MediaPunch/Shutterstock1975NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1977Gary Null/NBC197720th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock19809 to 5Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock1982The Best Little Whorehouse in TexasNBC/NBCU Photo Bank1989Tri-Star/Kobal/Shutterstock1989Steel MagnoliasPaul DrinkwaterNBC/NBCU Photo Bank1990Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1991Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1993Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1994Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1995Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1999NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1999Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2003Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank2008Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire2012Douglas Gorenstein/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2014Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire2014Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2015Quantrell Colbert/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2015Virginia Sherwood/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2016Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2018Katherine Bomboy/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2019Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2019For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! 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