Country music icon Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, according to multiple reports, including The Independent, The Guardian and Sky News.
Parton’s death was reportedly announced by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, on Instagram on Tuesday.
“I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.
“It is an honour, an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness,” Seaver said.
In her honour, United States President Donald Trump ordered American flags across the country to be lowered for one week.
Trump described her death as a “true loss for millions of people.”
Parton, who rose from humble beginnings in Tennessee to become one of country music’s most celebrated singer-songwriters, had a career spanning more than six decades.
She sold more than 100 million records globally and became known as the “Queen of Country”, with hits including “Jolene”, “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You”.
Parton wrote more than 3,000 songs and won 11 Grammy Awards. She was also a successful actor, appearing in films including 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Joyful Noise.
Born on January 19, 1946, in a two-room log cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Tennessee, Parton was the fourth of 12 children.
Her father was an illiterate sharecropper who later worked his way up to owning a small tobacco farm.
Parton described her family as “dirt poor” but credited her mother with passing on her love and knowledge of traditional folk ballads and her father for his work ethic.
Parton began performing as a child. By the age of 13, she had appeared on local radio and television in East Tennessee, performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and recorded her first single, “Puppy Love”.
After graduating from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville the following day and began establishing herself as a songwriter.
