Dolly Parton Was Hospitalized 4 Days Before Her Death at 80

Indeed, at the time of her death, Parton—whose husband Carl Thomas Dean died in March 2025—was busy with the opening of her SongTeller Hotel in Nashville, as well as the impending rollout of her coffee company, Cup of Ambition coffee, based on the lyrics in her hit “9 to 5.” 

And while the Steel Magnolias actress was up front with her health struggles in the final years of her life, she also pushed back that she was slowing down. 

“I wanted to say, I know lately everybody thinks I am sicker than ever,” Parton said in a video shared to her Instagram in October. “Do I look sick to you? I’m workin’ hard here. Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease. Those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate.”

But the “I Will Always Love You” singer assured fans she appreciated their thoughts and prayers amid her fluctuating health. 

“Because I’m a person of faith, I can always use the prayers for anything and everything,” Parton mused. “I want you to know I’m OK. I’ve got some problems as I’ve mentioned.”

Parton admitted that her declining health was in part because she was so focused on caring for her husband in her final years. 

“I didn’t take care of myself,” Parton continued. “I let a lot of things go that should’ve been taken care of. So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said, ‘We need to take care of this, we need to take care of that.’”

Nevertheless, just 10 months before her passing, Parton assured, “I’m not ready to die yet, I don’t think God is through with me and I ain’t done working.”

Throughout her life, Parton worked to achieve not just her own dreams, but the dreams of those around her and even far out of her reach. 

“Dolly opened doors not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn't even know was possible, Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent,” Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver said in a video statement confirming her death shared to social media on Aug. 25. “By her example, we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn't open, and the doors she opened made and changed history.”

To look back on all Parton accomplished over her life, keep reading…