One of her very last commercials.
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. Dolly’s reps confirmed she sadly died following a “brief battle with cancer,” though the specific kind was not revealed.
Her very last musical recording is set to be included on U2’s new album Carnaval de Luz, as she recorded the album’s closer, “Torn.” And today, one of her last commercials was released which was filmed in July of 2026 for her new Cup of Ambition coffee brand.
Of course, the name was inspired by her iconic hit “9 to 5,” which of course opens with that legendary line:
“Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch and try to come to life”
Cup of Ambition launched nationwide for National Coffee Day today, Tuesday, Sept. 29th, and according to People, this launch was “a dream of hers more than 40 years in the making.”
In the commercial, you see Dolly getting ready for the day, writing a song, putting on lip gloss, and of course, pouring herself a cup of piping hot ambition. Dolly reportedly filmed three commercials for the brand in July, just a month or so before her passing in August, so I’m sure we’ll get to see the other ones at some point, too.
In June during the opening of her truck stop, Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop, Dolly says it’s a dream that just took a little bit longer than some of her others, but she “couldn’t be more happy with it” and was excited for fans to try it:
“I thought the Cup of Ambition would be a fantastic name for a coffee brand, and I’ve been working towards this for over 40 years. This is just one of those dreams that’s taken a little longer than I thought it might, but we’ve got it and it’s working.
I can’t wait for you to try it. But I couldn’t be more happy with it. Community Coffee has been a fantastic partner for me and I like the way they think.”
Dolly worked with family-owned roaster Community Coffee for this product, and Donna Saurage, third-generation owner of Community Coffee, says Dolly had a “warmth” about her that made you feel like you’d known her forever, and they connected over their “love of family, serving our communities and bringing people together”:
“Dolly had a warmth that made you feel like you’d known her forever. We connected over our love of family, serving our communities and bringing people together, and it was a true joy to help make her dream of a Cup of Ambition coffee become a reality.”
In true Dolly fashion, Cup of Ambition coffee sales will support her Imagination Library Foundation, and Community Coffee, will serve as the anchor funding partner for Lafayette Parish in Louisiana.
It’s hard to believe Dolly was still working like this even a month before her death, and considering we now know she had cancer, I imagine she was not feeling good at all but you would never, ever know it by watching this.
She looks radiant, happy and healthy, and Dolly just had an effervescent sparkle that nothing could dull.
Check it out:
Earlier this week, Kacey Musgraves performed a stunning rendition of Dolly’s “I Will Always Love You” at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards:
