25/08/2026
Dolly Parton, country star, actor and philanthropist, has passed away at the age of 80.
With a distinguished career that lasted more than six decades, Parton is the best-selling female country music artist of all time, having sold more than 160 million albums worldwide, receiving a total of 11 Grammy Awards. Her debut album was 1967’s "Hello, I’m Dolly", and she went on to release a slew of hits, including “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene.”
Parton also became a star on the silver screen, gaining a whole new audience and critical acclaim when she brought her Southern charm to movies like “9 to 5” (she wrote and sang the theme song), “Steel Magnolias” and "The Best Little Wh******se in Texas."
Parton was also a shrewd businesswoman who amassed an estimated $650 million fortune and maintained creative control in the cutthroat and male-dominated music industry. She presided over an entertainment empire that included the Dollywood theme park. And she was a devoted philanthropist who launched the Dollywood Foundation to provide poverty relief and fund educational programs in her native East Tennessee.
Rest in Power, Ms. Parton.