Parton died at age 80 last Tuesday (Aug. 25) following what her spokesperson said was a brief battle with an undisclosed cancer.
Dolly Parton performs onstage during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Dolly Parton at Los Angeles Convention Center on February 8, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Dolly Parton‘s niece, singer Jada Star, feels like a lot of people do these days about the loss of the country icon last week at age 80 following what her spokesperson said was a brief battle with an undisclosed form of cancer. “It’s been … really difficult. And very surreal. I think we all share that feeling,” Star told Extra on Tuesday (Sept. 1).
And while the grief is overwhelming, Star said it has also lifted the family’s spirits to see “how much the whole world loves her. All of these tributes have helped so much to help us all through it.” Indeed, the outpouring of love and admiration for the “Jolene” singer who has been praised for her six decades of hits, irresistible, positive personality, legendary business acumen and generous charitable gifts — including the 350+ million books distributed around the world through her Imagination Library — have come from all corners of the Earth.
