Tributes pour in for 'magnificent star' and 'wonderful woman' Dolly Parton after death from cancer
Dolly Parton performs at Glastonbury music festival, June 29, 2014. Photo: Jonathan Short/Invision/AP, File
Tributes have poured in for Dolly Parton, after her family announced that the country musician had died at the age of 80.
The singer was best known for hits including , and .
Ms Parton’s death was announced by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who said sharing the news was “an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness”.
He added: “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.”
Parton’s husband Carl Dean died last year aged 82.
The musician played two concerts at Live At The Marquee in Cork in recent decades, in 2008 and 2014, leading into almost every song with an anecdote about her childhood, or a self-depreciating joke.
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Throughout her touring days, she also played to sold-out crowds in Dublin and Belfast as well as an intimate pub gathering in Kerry.
On an appearance on in 2020, Parton said her working-class roots meant she always felt a special affinity with her Irish fans.
“They appreciate and know what it is like to live hard and to be brought up poor, and I think that they know when I am singing it, I mean it,” she said.
"And I believe that they know that I feel that emotion that I have… I call it my Smokey Mountain DNA, but it is from those old songs brought over from Ireland and England.”
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library first launched in Cork in 2020, with children in the Northside, Mahon, Carrigtwohill as well as in two Direct Provision centres at the Kinsale Road and Ashbourne House, able to receive a new book in the post every month from birth up until five years of age.
Ms Parton’s publicist Marcel Pariseau said: “After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centre surrounded by loved ones.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.”
The type of cancer was not disclosed.
Singer Taylor Swift said in a statement shared with media outlets including that “a world without Dolly doesn’t feel possible, real, or right”.
“But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting one,” she said.
She continued: “She managed to give the world the ultimate mystery and fantasy in some corners of her life, but to give full transparency in the ways that counted. Somehow she was true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person.
“She possessed the softest heart when it came to the struggles of others, and a backbone of steel to defend her own self worth as an artist.”
The Jolene singer thanked Swift and then-fiance Travis Kelce in an Instagram post last month for their $2m donation to the country songstress’s non-profit, Imagination Library, adding she was “blown away” by the gesture.
Swift’s statement continued: “Along with her other fans, I am so grateful for all of it. For the melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest hearts.
“For the millions of books she provided children all over the world so that they might fall in love with stories the way she did. For the tightropes she walked so that young girls like me could grow up dreaming of joining the circus too.
“Dolly, I’ll think of you each step of the way.”
Other famous faces who honoured the singer included Paul McCartney who paid tribute to the country star in a heartfelt post on Instagram describing Parton as a “magnificent star” and “wonderful woman” who he met at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, country music’s most well-known venue and where Dolly Parton first appeared at age 13.
He said: “Her songwriting, her singing and her philanthropy were unrivalled in the world of country music and it is hard to imagine living in a world without Dolly.”
Beyoncé, who worked with Parton on her 2024 album , said in a statement on her website: “Dolly, you were the barometer. The north star. Bold and brilliant. Talented and tenacious.
“You taught so many lessons on how to be uniquely oneself. I am grateful for your art, your heart, your generosity, your humor, your entrepreneurship.”
Popstar Sabrina Carpenter also paid tribute to the country star, who featured on the deluxe version of her song .
She said in a post on Instagram: “I will cherish our laughter and conversations and I will keep your wisdom, your playful outlook on life, and perfect sense of humor in my pocket for the rainy days.”
Julia Roberts paid tribute to her co-star, telling in a statement: “Dolly was a magical and joyous human. I hold knowing her as a treasure in my life. The sun has dimmed today.”
Country singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus said Parton recently messaged him to say that she “loved me with her whole heart” adding that he will “always” love her in the same way.
Parton was also the godmother to his daughter, singer Miley Cyrus and appeared alongside the father-daughter duo on their Disney show .
Singer Billy Joel wrote on Instagram: “Dolly Parton has transcended time and become one of those iconic artists who is known for just being Dolly, beyond a specific song or moment in time. I was one of the lucky ones whose music she covered.”
Meanwhile, Celine Dion described the singer as having a “kind heart and a generous spirit” and Tom Jones said Parton’s death had left a “great emptiness”.
TV presenter Oprah Winfrey said one of her fondest memories with Parton was “having a hoot and a holler while wearing Bob Mackie gowns on her show Dolly”.
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