Dolly Parton Dies at 80: Bette Midler, Carol Burnett and More Stars Pay Tribute

Dolly Parton, the country music superstar behind “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You” and “9 to 5,” has died. She was 80.

Parton’s family announced her death on Aug. 25 in a video shared on her social media pages. 

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Over a career that stretched more than six decades, Parton released 49 studio albums and scored 25 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, the most by a female country artist. Her hits spanned generations, from “Joshua” in 1971 to her 2024 collaboration with Beyoncé on “Tyrant.”

Celebrities began paying tribute after her family announced her death.

Jamie Lee Curtis: The actor posted a heartfelt Instagram tribute to Parton. “They say don’t meet your heroes. They were wrong about her.... She is a great example for us all.”

Bette Midler: The entertainer praised Parton’s “voice of pure gold and a heart to match. What a terrible, terrible loss.”

Carol Burnett: The comedian and actor shared a photo of her and Parton performing together. “I’m so sad right now. One of my favorite memories was taping the special Carol and Dolly in Nashville. We shot the week of Thanksgiving and Dolly made individual turkey dinners for every one of us, that she cooked herself. We were a family. That’s who she was,” she wrote.

Colman Domingo: The actor shared his thoughts on X. “Dolly taught us that you can be anything and do anything and to do it with kindness. What a light. We are all grateful that we lived in a time of Dolly Parton. We will always love her.”

Lily Tomlin: Parton’s 9 to 5 costar kept it brief in an Instagram post that simply said “No words…💔”

Reba McEntire: The country singer paid tribute to Parton on Instagram. “Your love, your music and you gave so much with your huge huge heart. There will never ever be another you. We will remember and cherish every memory and every note you ever played and sang. Thank you, Lord, for Dolly. She’s gonna have a blast in heaven singing all her favorite songs with all her family and friends who have gone on before her.”

Henry Winkler: The Happy Days actor paid tribute to the singer on X: “What a sad day for America what a sad day for the world what a sad day for the [Parton] family. Dolly! We will miss you in more ways than one can say you were a treasure on this earth.

Leslie Mann: The actor commented on the Instagram announcement of Parton’s death: “Thank you, Dolly! You made the world a better place❤️”

Selma Blair: The actor also commented on the announcement about Parton. “Nobody did it better. So greatly loved. So greatly missed forever.”

Jenna Bush Hager: The Today cohost joined the tributes on Parton’s Instagram account, in the comments under the announcement. “The best there ever was,” she wrote.

Pedro Pascal: The actor called her “one of one” in an Instagram post. 

Josh Gad: The Frozen actor posted a tribute on Facebook. “This one just hurts too much,” he wrote. “We have already lost too many of our 20th century musical greats, but today we lost one of our all-time greats.” He closed with: “RIP Dolly. You are loved.”