Country star celebrates Dolly Parton’s 80th birthday
Rainie Wilson, Keith Urban, Karlie Pearce and Riley Green are among the stars celebrating country music icon and legend Dolly Parton’s birthday.
Dolly Parton’s work isn’t “done” anytime soon.
The 80-year-old “Jolene” hitmaker gave fans an update on her health during her keynote address on the opening day of Dollywood theme park in Tennessee.
“I missed you,” she told her fans on March 13, according to footage of her speech from local news station WVLT. During Park’s 41st season, Ms. Parton said she has been “working on a lot of things,” including writing new songs for an upcoming Broadway musical.
“You know, I’m not on tour. I’ve had some minor health issues, but we’re taking good care of them,” Parton says. “I’m just getting back to the point where I’m getting more and more exhausted from grieving Carl and so many other little things that happened and needing to get back on my feet mentally, emotionally and physically. But everything is going great. It hasn’t slowed me down.”
Despite health issues, Dolly Parton is keeping busy
Parton had good reason to reassure her fans. When she postponed a concert in Las Vegas in September due to “some formalities,” her sister’s call for prayers sparked concerns about the severity of her health problems. Parton quipped on social media: “I’m not dead yet!”
Parton told fans in an Instagram video on October 8 that she was “okay” but had “some issues” to deal with and would need “several treatments.” Parton later told fans that after losing her husband earlier this year, she “didn’t take care of” herself and “let go of a lot of things that I should have done.” In November, Parton was inducted into the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Hall of Fame, but was unable to attend due to health issues.
Parton celebrated her 80th birthday on January 19th. Some of country’s biggest names, including Laney Wilson and Keith Urban, shared stories and celebrated. However, the singer herself took a laissez-faire attitude towards this milestone.
“Everyone says, ‘Well, you’re going to be 80 years old.’ Well, so what?” she said in an interview with People. “Look at what I’ve done in 80 years. It feels like we’re just getting started.”
The “9 to 5” songstress continued, “I know it sounds stupid, but I think there’s a lot to be said about age. If you allow yourself to get older, you’ll get older. I say, ‘There’s no time to get older!'” I don’t have time to think about that. That’s not what I’m thinking. ”
Parton remains busy this year as she brings her musical Dolly: The True Original Musical to the Broadway stage. She told fans that she was writing new songs and rewriting existing ones.
Dolly Parton denies dating rumors: ‘Karl Dean is waiting for me over there’
Parton was also quick to dispel dating rumors, including one about her on-stage pal, Dollywood president Eugene Norton. Parton’s husband of more than 60 years, Carl Dean Thomas, passed away in March 2025 at the age of 82.
“I know there’s a lot of rumors going around, but I’m not married to Sylvester Stallone and I’m not dating anyone. I’m not married. I think I’ll only get married once,” Parton said. “I think Karl Dean is waiting for me on the other side. If I showed up at the Pearly Gates with someone else, he wouldn’t like it. He’d say, ‘Who’s that prick?’
Contributor: Kimi Robinson
