Opening up about the death of her beloved sister.
On August 25, 2026, Dolly Parton sadly passed away at 80-years-old in Nashville Tennessee. Dolly had been dealing with undisclosed health issues for the last year or so, and she previously shared that she was having issues with severe kidney stones. Aside from that, she understandably didn’t share more, though clearly there were more serious issues going on.
Dolly’s reps confirmed she sadly died following a “brief battle with cancer,” though the specific kind was not revealed. Dolly had been open about her health struggles over the last several months, though it sounds like the cancer was a more recent development.
While the world mourns, even more so does Dolly’s family, and her sister, Stella, previously took to Instagram last to share a lengthy post about her love for her big sister and Dolly’s final days. Stella explained that she and Dolly used to have coffee together and catch up very early on Tuesday mornings, because growing up farm girls, they continued to be early risers throughout their lives.
She has since issued a statement aimed at people trying to profit off of of her sister’s death with fake stories, and it’s on secret that Stella is one of the most outspoken Parton family members, though I can’t blame her for being upset about that.
And today, Stella sat down for her first formal interview since Dolly passed for CBS Mornings with Gayle King, where she opened up about why Dolly kept her cancer diagnosis a secret from the world, as well as a secret from some of her family members.
Stella explained that her sister could not “bear negative things,” and simply didn’t want to worry her family and fans. Of course, her closest relatives knew what was going on, but most did not, and she wanted it that way, even though it felt like a shock to the world when she did pass:
“Well, Dolly did not want anyone to tell that, because Dolly could not bear negative things. She would not have wanted her fans worried about it. She didn’t want a lot of family worried about it. Some of us knew, the ones of us that were closer, but not every relative.”
King questioned if it was simply because Dolly didn’t want people to be sad, and Stella confirmed that really was she only reason. She also said that Dolly would be “delighted” at all of the love shown for her because of how much it has encouraged her family:
“Absolutely. She did not want people sad. She’d be really happy and delighted that people have shown her so much love, because she knew that would make us feel better as her family.
Because bottom line, end of the day, her family and Carl’s family, and probably Judy’s [Dolly’s best friend since childhood] family, are the people she would want to say, ‘See, everything I did, they cared. They really loved me.'”
I hope Dolly had no doubt while she was still alive how much people loved her, and of course it’s completely understandable that she would want to keep her personal medical information private as I can only imagine how difficult all of that was for her.
Several of her family members have spoken out since her passing, but as sisters, she and Stella were particularly close, and it sounds like the family is continuing to grieve as they share stories of their beloved sister with the world.
In true Dolly fashion, her team is not slowing down even in the wake of her death, and they recently announced that a celebration of her life called DOLLYFEST will take place in Nashville, Tennessee and London, England, across two consecutive weekends, in 2027.
It was originally planned as a multi-artist event set for January 2026 in Nashville, and was supposed feature Parton as performer and host in honor of her 80th birthday, has turned into a much larger celebration of her life.
Danny Nozell, Founder/CEO of CTK Enterprises and Dolly’s longtime manager, says that it’s a project Dolly started herself, and before her initial health challenges happened last year, they had the venue booked and the “announcement ready to go”:
“What Dolly started, we will ensure is brought to life. Many people behind the scenes know that DOLLYFEST is a dream of Dolly’s that was intended to take place on her 80th birthday in Nashville. We had the venue booked and we had the announcement ready to go.
And then, in August 2025, Dolly had to take a step back after her initial health challenges. A lot of people always say, WWDD (What Would Dolly Do?), and, well, at this moment, DOLLYFEST is WDWD (What Dolly Would Do!).”
He explained that they are happy for people to celebrate Dolly with the different programs and events that will take place int he wake of her passing, a “traditional memorial” is not something Dolly wanted, and DOLLYFEST will be the party of a lifetime she wanted to share with the world.
“We are not discouraging people from celebrating Dolly in the ways they choose. However, as far as a traditional memorial goes, that is not something Dolly wanted. So, instead, it feels more appropriate for us to take a beat, let all the tributes that immediately make sense occur naturally, and then, see through this festival-style concept that was truly dreamed up by Dolly.
This is something that is authentic to her, something that feels right to me, and something that artists and fans around the world can participate in, while also giving everyone time to grieve, and giving everyone time to plan.”
It’s even more special knowing that this is something Dolly truly wanted, and had a hand in planning. The full lineup of artists and events is still to be announced, but I love the fact that this is something Dolly had directly wished for and was working on.
