The country music icon behind 'Jolene,' '9 to 5' and 'I Will Always Love You' built a six-decade career spanning music, film and philanthropyynet|Country music legend Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, ending a six-decade career that made her one of the most recognizable and influential figures in American music.Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death Tuesday in an Instagram video on behalf of the Parton and Owens families.GalleryCountry music legend Dolly Parton (Photo: AP)“It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens,” Seaver said.Only four days before her death, Parton spoke to People Magazine about her declining health, saying she had neglected some medical problems while caring for her husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025.“But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago. I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI! Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’! You know me — as I’ve often said — I’ve dreamed myself into a corner and I still have so many things I want to achieve, so I’m gonna keep on working as long as I can to see everything come to life.”Parton died just 4 days after saying, ‘I still have so many things I want to achieve’(Photo: AP Photo/Sam Hodde)Born in Tennessee in 1946, Parton grew up in a poor family with 11 siblings and began singing in church as a child. She moved to Nashville after high school and initially found success as a songwriter before becoming a regular on The Porter Wagoner Show.Her solo breakthrough came in the early 1970s with songs including “Joshua,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “Jolene.” When she decided to leave Wagoner’s show in 1974, she wrote “I Will Always Love You” as a farewell to him.The song later became an international phenomenon when Whitney Houston recorded it for the 1992 film The Bodyguard.Parton expanded beyond country music in the late 1970s and 1980s, becoming a major crossover star. Her film debut came in 1980 with 9 to 5, alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The movie’s title song became Parton’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.She later appeared in films including The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, Steel Magnolias and Joyful Noise.(Photo: AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)Over her career, Parton won 11 Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association awards and seven Academy of Country Music awards, as well as an Emmy. She received two Academy Award nominations and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.She was also known for extensive philanthropic work. Her Imagination Library, inspired in part by her father’s inability to read or write, has distributed books to children around the world.Parton married Dean in 1966, and the couple remained together for nearly 60 years until his death. Despite her public life, Dean largely stayed out of the spotlight.(Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)“Ours is a great old love story. Most people don’t stay that close that long,” Parton told People Magazine in 2025. “That’s a loss. Nobody can ever know that unless you’ve experienced it yourself. He will always be in my heart and in my memories.”Parton had increasingly struggled with health problems in her final year. A planned Las Vegas residency was postponed and later canceled, though in May she said she was “responding really well to meds and treatments” and “improving every day.”Even late in life, she remained focused on future projects.“I just hope I live long enough to do more things,” she once said. “That’s the only thing that worries me, that I may run out of time before I see so many of my dreams come true. I wake up with new dreams all the time. But I put them in a place where they can continue, even after I’m gone.”