**NASHVILLE, Tenn.** — New details have emerged about Dolly Parton’s health in the days before her death at 80, including a hospital stay that began four days before the country music legend died.
Parton died Tuesday in Nashville after what her representatives later described as a brief battle with cancer. They have not said what type of cancer she had. A publicist said she died peacefully, ending a career that spanned seven decades and made her one of the most beloved figures in American music.
She was admitted Friday, Aug. 21, to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Early reports did not give a reason for the admission. TMZ, citing people familiar with the situation, said she had been dealing with kidney and autoimmune problems. Those conditions have not been officially tied to her death, and her family did not name a cause when the news first broke. Her team later confirmed cancer.
The hospitalization came the same day Parton publicly discussed health problems that had followed her for about a year. “As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” she told PEOPLE, referring to her husband, Carl Dean. Dean, her husband of nearly 60 years, died in March 2025 at 82.
After his death she had several setbacks. Doctors wanted her to undergo multiple procedures, and she postponed appearances to recover. Earlier this month she missed the opening of a new Dollywood attraction after dizziness and dehydration. In a prerecorded message she told disappointed guests her doctor had advised her not to travel.
Parton had also dealt with kidney stones. There has been no official word that her history with that condition caused her death.
Even so, she sounded determined to keep working. “Even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’!” she said in one of her last public health updates, adding that she still had projects she hoped to finish.
News of her death brought tributes from entertainers, political figures, celebrities and fans around the world.
Born in Tennessee in 1946 as one of 12 children, Parton rose from poverty in the Great Smoky Mountains to become one of the most successful entertainers of her era. Her catalog included “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You.” She also became an actress, businesswoman and philanthropist with unusually broad appeal. Her Imagination Library, founded in 1995, has given hundreds of millions of free books to children.
Her family said a small private service would be held for immediate relatives.
