Dolly Parton, who was born in a two-room log cabin and rose to become the world’s wealthiest country music star with timeless hits including “9 to 5” and “Jolene,” has died aged 80. Her death was announced by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, in an Instagram video posted Tuesday afternoon. He served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades.
Parton became one of the most beloved singer-songwriters of all time and sold more than 100 million records globally, earning her the nickname the “Queen of Country,” over the course of her six-decade career. She wrote more than 3,000 songs, and a record-breaking 44 of her albums reached the top 10 on the country music charts. She won eleven Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards and was set to receive an honorary Oscar for her humanitarian work in 2026.
She was believed to be the world’s wealthiest country music star, with an estimated net worth of $500m, and became a noted philanthropist. She was known for her efforts to encourage literacy around the world through her Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library, and also used her money to fight the HIV/Aids crisis, fund the American Red Cross and develop a Covid vaccine. In 2022, she was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and commented: “I just give from my heart.
I never know what I’m going to do or why I’m gonna do it. I just see a need and if I can fill it, then I will.” Born on January 19, 1946, in a two-room log cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Tennessee, Parton was the fourth of 12 children. Her father was an illiterate sharecropper who worked his way up to owning a small tobacco farm.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Parton later described her family as being “dirt poor” but credited her mother with passing on her love and deep knowledge of traditional folk ballads and her father for his work ethic.
He knew what everything was worth.” Parton started performing when she was a child. By the age of 13, she had appeared on local radio and television in East Tennessee; performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville; and recorded her first single "Puppy Love". When she graduated high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville the next day and began establishing herself as a songwriter.
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