Dolly Parton’s health battles — as icon dies at 80…
Beloved American icon and nation music legend Dolly Parton is lifeless at 80.
Her household announced the devastating news in a video posted to Instagram Tuesday.
“Hey everyone, my name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton and I am representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my Aunt Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean,” the assertion said.
American nation music star Dolly Parton is lifeless at age 80 (Cathal Mcnaughton) REUTERS
“The sadness lays with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus,” continued Seaver, who served as the “9 to 5” artist’s head of safety for more than 20 years.
Parton’s dying comes just days after she shared an update on her ongoing medical issues.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” Parton told followers on Aug. 21, referring to her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, who handed away in March 2025. He was 82.
Every week prior, the “Jolene” singer had cancelled an look at her iconic Dollywood theme park after a doctor ordered her to not journey resulting from ongoing “health issues.”
“I’m supposed to be there in person, like we planned,” Parton shared in a digital look at the opening ceremony of the theme park’s new curler coaster, NightFlight Expedition, per video posted by Knoxville News Sentinel and the Tennessean.
“Now I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I have had a few little health issues. And sometimes I get a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated,” the Grammy winner, who wore fairy wings, told the crowd. “And so my Nashville doctor clipped my wings, saying you ain’t traveling this week.”
Parton’s passing comes after months of extended health points. AP
In May, the “I Will Always Love You” singer instantly announced that she was coping with “health challenges” that required her to postponed her first Las Vegas residency in more than 30 years.
Parton’s official reason for dying has not been disclosed publicly.
In his emotional tribute, Seaver revealed, “Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.”
Though famously personal about components of her private life, Parton has been open about a number of health challenges she’s confronted in the past. Here’s a glance at the medical points she’s endured as followers mourn her passing.
Facing endometriosis
In 1982, Parton was pressured to cancel a tour resulting from extreme belly pain and bleeding. Later, she was identified with endometriosis, a chronic condition that impacts 1 in 10 women worldwide.
Endometriosis happens when tissue just like the uterine lining grows outdoors the uterus, often inflicting intense pelvic pain — particularly during menstrual intervals — and might result in fertility points.
Parton announced that she was suspending her Las Vegas on Sept. 28, 2025. CBS by way of Getty Images
To handle her symptoms, Parton underwent a partial hysterectomy in 1985 at the age of 36, during which her whole uterus and a part of her cervix had been eliminated, according to an interview with Closer (*80*). The process left her unable to hold youngsters.
Overcoming psychological health struggles
Parton has been candid about the emotional spiral she fell into following her endometriosis diagnosis, surgical procedure and the painful realization that she wouldn’t be capable of have organic youngsters.
“Suddenly I was a middle-aged woman. I went through a dark time, until I made myself snap out of it,” she revealed in the 2017 e book “Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton.”
That “dark time” introduced deep depression, an emotional affair and bouts of binge consuming that triggered her to quickly acquire 50 kilos.
The “Jolene” singer’s despair grew so consuming that she says she even contemplated ending her life and located herself arguing with God.
“I just said things like, ‘Look this is ridiculous, I am not happy,’ [and] arguing about why when they say you shouldn’t commit suicide because that’s a sin you can’t get forgiven for,” Parton recalled during a 2019 episode of the podcast “Dolly Parton’s America.”
“Everything was just confusing to me and I was just angry and I was hurt, and I was unhappy, and so I just said ‘You’re going to have to get me some answers or I’m getting out of here.’”
Parton’s longtime husband, Carl Dean, died in March at the age of 82. dollyparton/Instagram
At her lowest point, alone in her bed room with a gun, Parton believes an indication from above could have saved her life.
Suddenly, her Boston terrier, Popeye, ran up the stairs and into the room, “’bout the time I was writing my— you know,” she said. “God is dog spelled backwards, and I always thought that might have been the very thing.”
In latest months, Parton has opened up about the heartache she’s felt since the dying of her husband of almost 59 years, Carl Dean, in March.
“I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old, and it’s a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits,” the Grammy winner said during a TODAY section in May. “I’ll always love him,” she added, admitting she will get “very emotional” when people deliver it up.
In July, Parton revealed on Khloé Kardashian’s podcast “Khloé in Wonder Land” that she hasn’t been capable of write since her husband’s passing.
“Several things I’ve wanted to start, but I can’t do it,” she said. “I got so many other things and I can’t afford the luxury of getting that emotional right now.”
Managing again pain
In 2008, Parton was pressured to delay the start of her ninth headlining tour, supporting her fortieth studio album “Backwoods Barbie,” after struggling a again injury.
“Hey, you try wagging these puppies around a while and see if you don’t have back problems,” Parton joked, referring to her breasts, according to Reuters.
Parton confronted her latest health challenges together with her trademark wit and sass, telling followers, “I ain’t dead yet!” Getty Images
“The truth is I just bent over one day to pick something up, and I hurt my lower back… I just kind of popped a disk in my lower back,” she explained, including that her doctor suggested six to eight weeks of relaxation.
“It was just one of those freak things, and it’s fine now,” she reassured followers.
Kidney stone setbacks
In September, Parton was pressured to skip a Dollywood event after being sidelined by a painful kidney stone.
“I had a kidney stone, which caused me a lot of problems,” she said. “Turns out there was an infection. And the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling around this minute, so you need a few days to get better.’ So he suggested I not go to Dollywood today.”
The “Here You Come Again” singer beforehand shut down false rumors of abdomen cancer by revealing she had three kidney stones eliminated in 2015.
Kidney stones are onerous deposits of minerals and acid salts that type when sure substances in urine turn into too concentrated. The painful pebbles could make it troublesome to urinate and hold meals down.
Around 11% of males and 6% of women in the US will experience kidney stones at least as soon as of their lives.
Parton hasn’t revealed the full particulars of her current health points, however her rep, Olly Rowland, lately cleared up rumors after the singer’s youthful sister, Freida Parton, sparked concern by asking followers to wish for the nation star.
“It’s just the kidney stones, and the procedure she needs to resolve those,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It looks like her sister posted, and it got quite a bit blown out of proportion, weirdly.”
Nine months before her passing, the “9 to 5” hitmaker spoke to People about the legacy she wished to go away behind.
“I’m at that point in my life where I just want to be able to do good things that can be carried on,” she said in the November 2025 cowl story. “I’m proud of my legacy so far, and I hope to just continue to do things that might be of use to other people.”
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