Parton in 1977
Dolly Parton passed away yesterday at age 80 following a brief battle with cancer.
She leaves behind a legacy captured in many GNN stories; one of championing childhood literacy, uplifting Americans of every gender, color, and creed, and of several enduring musical hits in the country genre.
Multiple reports from family detail that she passed peacefully amid a battle with cancer surrounded by loved ones at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
Born the 4th youngest of 12 in a one-room cabin in Pittman Center, Tennessee, Parton would go on to become one of the most decorated figures in Showbiz, collecting 11 Grammy awards, 3 Emmys, and receiving nominations for 2 Academy awards, 6 Golden Globes, and a Tony.
Her career was built off of apostolic talent for country music, a genre she dominated with 25 #1 singles across 47 albums that cracked the top 10 for sales. She managed to write “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene” in the same day no less.
It wasn’t until age 8 that she first got her fingers around a proper guitar, having shown a penchant for music even earlier. By age 12 she had already appeared in performance in church and on the radio. After graduating high school in 1964 she moved to Nashville where she was almost immediately signed to a record label with an attempt at making her a pop star. That didn’t pan out, but it was nothing less than a path which she would later be quoted as saying she always saw for herself.
“I’ve always believed things would go well, and I dreamed that they would even before I was in high school. I always wanted to be a star. It just seemed natural to me.”
She married her husband Carl Dean, 2 years out of high school, and remained in wedded bliss until 2025 when he passed away.
Too many words would be required to enumerate the accomplishments and entertainment staples, one after the other, which she would produce over the next 5 decades, but to name a few are a catalogue of 3,000 songs, stellar performances in 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Steel Magnolias, and multiple successful business ventures including into a film and television production company that produced an Academy award-winning documentary, and, among other things, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Our team, our local program partners, and every operational partner who helps make this program possible each month are heartbroken at the loss of our founder, Dolly Parton. (cont.) pic.twitter.com/xXys7ejAKQ
— Imagination Library (@dollyslibrary) August 25, 2026
GNN remembers Parton as a true philanthropist. In 2018, GNN reported that Parton’s “Imagination Library” had given away its 100-millionth book to support child literacy, a milestone her nonprofit would surpass by 200% before her death.
In 1988, Parton founded the non-profit Dollywood Foundation, under which the Imagination Library would be nested, but which also ran a variety of other programs, including one which reduced the high school dropout rate in her home county of Tennessee from 35% to just 6%.
Tonight, the Empire State Building tower lights will turn to a pink sparkle at 9:25 to honor the late Dolly Parton.
Dolly was a global cultural icon whose seven-decade career reached generations of fans. Beyond entertainment, Dolly leaves a significant philanthropic legacy… pic.twitter.com/Pu5rtdfe0r
— Empire State Building Observation Deck (@EmpireStateBldg) August 25, 2026
Parton was a generous donor to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and also made “generational and transformational” donations of undisclosed amounts to the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, which was later renamed in her honor.
In 2022, Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos announced that Parton’s nonprofit would be receiving the Amazon Foundation’s Courage and Civility Award, which comes with a $100 million donation to charities of the winner’s choice.
“(She) embodies these ideals so thoroughly,” said Bezos at the time. “She gives with her heart. What she’s done for kids and literacy, and so many other things, is just incredible.”
Tuesday saw flags raised to half mast on the order of the President, and the Empire State Building announced it would shine pink at the hour of 9-2-5 p.m. in honor of the star.
WATCH PBS’ tribute compilation to the great Dolly Parton…
