Country music icon Dolly Parton died on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, at the age of 80. Dollywood President Eugene Naughton confirmed the star’s death to Knox News, while her family shared the news in an Instagram video. Following the announcement, tributes from across the entertainment world poured in to honor the musician, actor, author, and philanthropist.
Celebrity Tributes and Shared Memories Across Entertainment
Minutes after Dolly Parton’s family shared the news, friends and co-stars posted personal reflections detailing her profound influence on their lives and careers.
Reba McEntire Post on X
Longtime friend and fellow country star Reba McEntire posted a photo of her with Parton on X and wrote a touching tribute to her “buddy Dolly”:
“Well, I just got the news that my buddy Dolly passed onto the higher and greater side. Dolly, thank you for all the wonderful things you did for us here on earth. 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. I’ll never forget the first time I met you and I’ll never forget our last conversation. I hold it with love in my heart. I will always love you, Reba.”
Reba McEntire, Country music singer
Kacey Musgraves and Keke Palmer Responses
Other artists and collaborators quickly shared their grief. Kacey Musgraves, who joined Parton on stage for an all-star tribute performance at the 2019 Grammy Awards, took to X and wrote, Dolly. This really really hurts. The world feels a lot less sparkly all of a sudden. So glad she’s with her Carl Dean. No one talk to me today.
Actress Keke Palmer, who appeared alongside Parton in “Joyful Noise,was among the first to share her heartbreak, stating in an Instagram post,
I’m devastated. Truly.”
Lily Tomlin, Kelly Clarkson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Keith Urban Tributes
Lily Tomlin, one of Parton’s “9 to 5co-stars, shared that she was heartbroken alongside a simple black-and-white picture of the singer, writing on X:
Friend. Songwriter. The Great Harmonizer of Humanity. Dolly. Dolly. Dolly. Forever Dolly.”
The Kelly Clarkson Show shared a clip of Clarkson and Parton singing Parton’s iconic song, I Will Always Love You.
Clarkson posted a statement on her X account that said, “Dolly Parton had a way of making everyone feel special, and seen, and welcomed, and as if you were old friends. I will miss her heart and her voice as I am sure millions will. What an incredible gift and talent she was and still is with an amazing catalogue of art she has left behind for all of us.”
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis posted a photo of her with Parton on Instagram with the caption, They say don’t meet your heroes. Her bravery to know that she was more than they thought she was and that she needed to break away and move on into new work and new possibilities led her to…
Curtis also spoke out on the news, saying, Thank you, Dolly. For all of…
Fellow country superstar Keith Urban shared his own tribute to Parton, posting to his Instagram Stories, Heartbroken today. Honestly… I have no words right now.
