Dolly Parton, one of country music’s most iconic artists, has passed away, according to reports from CBS on Tuesday.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Parton's team says the country star died from cancer.
"After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones," the statement read.
The type of cancer was not disclosed.
Parton was born in 1946 and grew up in rural Tennessee. She made her first guest appearance on the Grand Ole Opry at age 13 in 1959, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Her first solo #1 hit came with the song “Joshua” in 1971, followed by three more chart toppers in 1973 and 1974 with “Jolene,” “Love is Like a Butterfly,” and “I will Always Love You.”
Apart from being a world-famous musician, Parton was known as an actor, businesswoman, and active philanthropist. She launched her Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to bolster education in her native Tennessee and donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University towards research during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CBS.
WBOC reported on Parton’s visit to Delaware in 2022 to celebrate her “Imagination Library,” aimed at inspiring a love of reading in children by offering a free book once a month to children from birth to five years old.
Parton was presented with the Living Legend Award by the Library of Congress in 2004. In 2005, she received the National Medal of Arts and was honored with the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in 2006.
Parton’s family announced her death on Tuesday, Aug. 25. She was 80.
