Global music icons Celine Dion, Beyonce and Taylor Swift have paid glowing tribute to legendary country music singer, Dolly Parton, who died at the age of 80.
The American singer, songwriter and actress died on Tuesday, her family announced on Instagram.
Following the report of her passing, Hollywood and country music stars, and her fans around the world have continued to flood social media with messages, celebrating the life and times of the singer.
In a post on Instagram, multiple Grammy-winning singer Celine Dion said: “Dolly… you were pure light, with a kind heart and a generous spirit.
“We will now be missing one of the most joyful voices this world has ever known.
“Thank you for the music, the laughter, and the love you gave us all. We will always love you”.
In a statement Taylor Swift said a world without Dolly Parton “doesn’t feel possible, real, or right”.
“But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting.
“Dolly gave us someone to look up to while encouraging us to be who we are as individuals,” said.
According to her, Parton managed to give the world the ultimate mystery and fantasy in some corners of her life, but to give full transparency in the ways that counted.
Beyoncé, who collaborated with Parton on Beyoncé’s 2024 country album, Cowboy Carter, described the late legend as “the barometer”.
“The north star. Bold and brilliant. Talented and tenacious. You taught so many lessons on how to be uniquely oneself. I am grateful for your art, your heart, your generosity, your humor, your entrepreneurship.
“I’m honored that I had the privilege to work with you. I will treasure that forever.
“Thank you for your profound impact on the world. You are an angel who has made this world a happier place because of your joyful art. You are truly one of one. Rest peacefully,” she said.
Parton, who rose from humble beginnings in Tennessee to become one of country music’s most celebrated singers, had a career spanning over six decades.
Born Dolly Rebecca Parton on January 19, 1946, the country music legend was the fourth of 12 children.
Her father was an illiterate sharecropper who later worked his way up to owning a small tobacco farm.
Parton described her family as “dirt poor,” but credited her mother with passing on her love and knowledge of traditional folk ballads and her father for his work ethic.
She began performing as a child, and 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”.
After graduating from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville the following day and began establishing herself as a songwriter.
She released her debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly, in 1967, and she joined the weekly television programme ‘The Porter Wagoner Show’ the same year.
Wagoner, an established country star, mentored Parton, and the pair released a series of successful albums as a duo.
In 1973, Parton decided to concentrate on her solo career and wrote the acclaimed classic “I Will Always Love You” about their professional separation.
The song became a hit for Parton and was later famously recorded by Whitney Houston for the 1992 film ‘The Bodyguard’.
Parton also wrote ‘Jolene’, one of her celebrated songs, around the same period, and both hits were included on her 1974 album ‘Jolene’, which helped introduce her to a wider audience beyond country music.
In 1977, she released the album, ‘Here You Come Again,’which became her first to sell a million copies and earned her first Grammy Award after several years of earning nominations.
Parton wrote more than 3,000 songs, sold more than 100 million records globally, and won 11 Grammy Awards, and became known as the “Queen of Country”.
In 1980, Parton made her acting debut alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the workplace comedy “9 to 5”.
She also wrote and performed the film’s theme song, which became a number one hit and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.
The film’s success helped launch Parton’s acting career, with roles in films including The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), Steel Magnolias (1989) and Joyful Noise (2012), among others.
Beyond music and acting, Parton’s commitment philanthropy was just as legendary, particularly through the Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library, which promotes childhood literacy.
She championed childhood literacy globally, mailing millions of free books to children from birth until school age.
She was celebrated for continually pouring resources back into her native East Tennessee through job creation, disaster relief funds, and educational programmes.
Parton also supported medical research, disaster relief and other charitable causes, including donating $1 million towards COVID-19 vaccine research.
In 2022, she was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.
Parton’s passing comes 16 months after the death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025 at the age of 82.
