Noor Nanji
Culture correspondent

Image source, NBC via Getty Images

Yes, there were the songs, the movies, a TV production company - but let’s not forget there’s also Dollywood - Dolly Parton’s very own theme park.

Dollywood is based in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee - and Parton previously said she wanted to build a place where the culture of her beloved Smoky Mountains could be celebrated.

It’s a sign of her global superstardom, with many fans of the country legend – of all different ages - flocking there over the years to soak up the atmosphere and take in the shows.

Image source, Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Image source, Corbis via Getty Images

It was the theme song that Dolly Parton wrote for the 1980 movie 9 to 5 that really propelled her to stardom.

The actress Jane Fonda, who produced and starred in the movie, had a vision of Parton typing at a desk in her film about discrimination against women in the workplace.

Parton had agreed to star in the film, but only if she could write the theme song.

The singer later said in an interview that she reasoned that Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin were huge stars so it was worth the risk.

"If it’s a big hit, then I'll get, you know, the glory of it, like Jane and Lily, and if it's a flop, I can blame it on them,” she said.

Parton wrote 9 to 5 on set while she was waiting around during filming. She played her acrylic nails as she thought they sounded like a typewriter.

When Fonda heard the song, she said she realised straight away that it wasn’t just a movie song, it was an anthem.

The film was a big success at the box office and the song won several awards including a Golden Globe for best original song.

Helen Bushby
Culture reporter

The singer was famously private about her personal life, but last year she announced that her husband Carl Dean, who was rarely seen with her in public, had died aged 82.

Describing her long marriage, she said they spent "many wonderful years" they spent together, adding: "Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years."

The 9-5 singer met Dean outside a laundromat on the first day she arrived in Nashville as an 18-year-old aspiring singer, and two years later they were married, in 1966.

They did not have children, but shared a large and close-knit extended family.

Emma Saunders
Culture reporter

Dolly Parton's last post on X was published on 15 August - a video of her famous duet with Kenny Rogers, Islands in the Stream. , external

In May, the country star pulled out a highly anticipated Las Vegas residency, which was due to commence next month.

She had already postponed her six-date run at The Colosseum Theatre at Caesars Palace from December 2025 to deal with "health challenges".

"I've still got some healing to do, but I am on my way!" the musician said in a video message.

In her typical warm and upbeat tone, Parton told fans that she "can't be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars and such on 5-inch heels - and you know that I'm going to be wearing them".

US President Donald Trump says in honour of Dolly Parton "American flags throughout the US will be lowered for one week beginning on Tuesday evening".

In a post on Truth Social, he adds: "This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will."

"Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you," he writes.

We're seeing tributes pour in for Dolly Parton, who has died at the age of 80.

"I'm devastated. Truly" actor Keke Palmer says alongside a photo of her and Parton. The pair starred in the 2012 musical Joyful Noise.

British singer Paloma Faith has also paid tribute. "Rest in peace wonderful Dolly Parton. You were one of the greatest ever to do it!... Thank you for the inspiration and may you be singing in heaven with all the greats."

Actor Jamie Lee Curtis says Parton was a hero who "is a great example for us all".

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

One week in 1972, Dolly Parton was suddenly struck with inspiration - and quickly dashed off two songs that would define her as an artist.

The first was Jolene - a playful, but steely warning to a beautiful woman and love rival. According to Parton, the track was inspired by a red-headed bank clerk who’d flirted with her husband - but she acknowledged the appeal was more universal.

"Most of us have actually had a Jolene in our lives at one time or another,” she said.

"But more importantly, we've all felt insecure about something. We've all felt like we might lose someone we love to someone else because we're not good enough, and that's what this song's really about.”

Not long after, she started writing I Will Always Love You. It also a personal story - but not a romantic one.

The ballad was actually a bittersweet goodbye to Porter Wagoner - the country star who’d supported Parton in the early days of her career, making her a regular fixture on his TV show.

The song was an apology as she prepared to strike out on her own.

Later on, she recalled how the songs had been recorded onto the "same cassette tape", just "a day or two apart". How’s that for a productive couple of days?

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

No-one did it like Dolly.

She was the grande dame of country. Someone every songwriter and performer looked up to. A force of nature. A true one of a kind.

One of 12 children, she grew up in "dirt poor" poverty on a rundown farm in Tennessee; but her life changed when her uncle Bill Owens gave her a guitar at the age of seven.

Before long, she was a regular radio performer. She made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry in 1959, introduced by Johnny Cash, at the age of 13.

Her initial attempts at a recording career weren’t successful, however. Early songs like Puppy Love and Happy, Happy Birthday Baby failed to chart.

But after she teamed up with country star Porter Wagoner for the 1968 duet The Last Thing on My Mind, she broke into the country music top 10, kick-starting a six year streak of hits.

The song’s she’ll be remembered for, however, are the ones she wrote herself. Songs like Jolene, Coat of Many Colours and I Will Always Love You. Honest, sincere, and authentic, she captured the trials and tribulations of life in a way that was always relatable, even when her stage outfits and her hairstyle remained larger than life.

When I interviewed her in 2016, inspiration was still fertile. "Almost every day I come up with a few song titles or a sweet melody," she told me, claiming to have written more than 3,000 songs in her career.

Image source, Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Dolly Parton, the country singer from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, will be remembered for her songs that told beautiful stories, such as Coat of Many Colours, Jolene, and I Will Always Love You.

The country legend sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and wrote over 3,000 songs.

Parton took her writing seriously, and considered herself primarily a songwriter. "It's my way of expressing myself. It's my therapy," she said.

The singer was also a savvy business woman, and was armed with a wit and charm that enabled her to ride through a career in show business that spanned over 60 years.

We'll bring you more on the life and career of Dolly Parton shortly, along with tributes that have started to pour in for the star.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, FilmMagic

Dolly Parton was born in 1946 into a poor farming family who lived in a one bedroom cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Tennessee.

She was the fourth of 12 children. Her father, Robert Lee Parton, was a tobacco farmer and paid a missionary a sack of cornmeal for delivering her.

Dolly said her mother, Avie Lee, used to sing folk songs all the time. She was also influenced by her Aunt, who played the guitar and wrote songs.

Her uncle accompanied her on the guitar during some of her first performances.

Parton sang in the local church where her grandfather was the pastor, from the age of six and - before reaching her teens - she was performing on her local TV station.

By the age of thirteen, she had reached country music's summit: with an appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

We can now bring you a statement put out by Dolly Parton's public relations team, confirming the death of the country singer.

"Global icon and humanitarian, Dolly Parton, known to the world as a beloved singer, songwriter, philanthropist, actress, playwright, and author died peacefully today in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80 years old.

"Dolly is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 59 years Carl Thomas Dean (1942 – 2025), her mother Avie Lee Caroline Owens (1923 – 2003), and father, Robert Lee Parton, Sr. (1921 – 2000).

"A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family. Dolly Parton’s legacy is one of love, compassion, and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place.

"Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact."

Grace Eliza Goodwin
US reporter

Iconic country musician Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, her family announced on her social media.

"Sadness lies with us, not with Dolly," Parton's nephew Brian Seaver said in a video announcement. "Dolly lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely."

This is a breaking news story, we'll bring you more on this shortly.

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