Dolly Parton, Music Icon And Oscar-Nominated 9 To 5 Star, Dead At 80

The world just got a little less wonderful today as Dolly Parton, the legendary singer-songwriter, country music icon, actor, producer, and philanthropist, has passed away. The Iron Butterfly was 80 years old. The news was confirmed in a video by her nephew Bryan Seaver on Parton's official Instagram account. "It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly," Seaver noted. "Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Car [Dean, her late husband]l, her parents, and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens."

Parton's career is inimitable: A beloved figure in pop culture with a 60-year span and 50 studio albums. One of the most-honored female country performers in history, Parton won 11 Grammy Awards and three Emmy Awards, and received two Academy Award nominations (plus an honorary Oscar — the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award) and nominations for six Golden Globes and a Tony Award. In 2022, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

While known the world over for her music, Parton was a well-respected actor, starring in classic films like "9 to 5" (which inspired genuine change in the workplace for women), "Steel Magnolias," and the Burt Reynolds comedy-musical "The Best Little Wh*rehouse in Texas." Parton was as humble as she was fabulous, serving as an uncredited producer on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and founding Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a book-gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas.

Trying to encapsulate the breadth of Parton's impact and influence is an impossible task, and so she goes, and yet we know, we'll think of her each step of the way.