Dolly Parton, country music legend and literacy champion, dies at 80

Dolly Parton, the legendary country singer-songwriter, actress and activist whose career spanned six decades and touched millions worldwide, has died at age 80. She died peacefully on August 25 in Nashville.

News of her passing came when her nephew Bryan Seaver posted a video announcement on Parton's Instagram account on behalf of the family. "This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality," Seaver said.

Parton rose to prominence in the 1960s with timeless classics like "Jolene" and "9 to 5," the title track for a movie in which she also starred. Her music crossed genres and generations, earning her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame and a devoted global fanbase.

Beyond her music and film career, Parton left a lasting legacy through her activism and deep commitment to children's literacy. In 2006, she announced a Canadian expansion of her Imagination Library, a charity that gifts young children with one free book every month. Since then, the program has distributed more than three million books across Canada through more than 400 local community partners, reaching every province and territory.

In recent years, Parton had quietly managed health challenges. In May, she cancelled a Las Vegas show and announced she had been undergoing treatment for kidney stones for several years. Despite her illness, she maintained her characteristic humour, posting on Instagram: "Lord, they dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee."

The family has not yet released a cause of death.