In an interview with CBS that will air Thursday, Dolly Parton’s sister Stella said the country music star and actress kept her illness hidden from the public, and even from some of those who were close to her, to avoid upsetting them.
Parton died Aug. 25 at age 80. Her publicity team later confirmed she died “after a brief battle with cancer.”
Stella sat down with CBS anchor Gayle King for her first interview since Parton’s death to discuss her sister’s legacy and why the music icon kept her health struggles private.
“Well, Dolly did not want anybody to tell that, because Dolly could not bear negative things,” Stella explained. “And she would not have wanted her fans worried about it. She didn’t want a lot of the family worried about it. Some of us knew, the ones of us that were closer.”
When King asked if the entire family knew, Stella replied, “Not every relative.”
“She did not want people sad,” Stella continued. “And she did not want people worried. She’d be really happy and delighted that people have shown her so much love, because she knew that that would make us feel better, as her family.”
In her first interview since her sister, Dolly Parton, died last month, @StellaParton exclusively tells @GayleKing that Dolly did not want people to know she was sick: “She did not want people sad, and she did not want people worried.”
More from their interview airs Thursday on… pic.twitter.com/vrmM0f8CjQ
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) September 9, 2026
Did Dolly Parton’s death catch you off guard?
Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver announced her death on Instagram, calling it an “honor” to deliver the news of her passing, but said it left family members with “great sadness.”
He did, however, add that Parton is now “in the light” with Jesus Christ in Heaven.
Parton had cancelled a Las Vegas show scheduled for May 2026, saying that she had to undergo treatment for kidney stones.
“Lord, they dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee,” she had said in a previous statement. “But seriously, my immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple three years, and they’re working real hard on rebuilding and strengthening those, and hopefully I’ll be up to snuff again soon.”
Parton sold over 100 million records and won 11 Grammy Awards, making her one of the top-selling performers of all time during a career that spanned over 60 years.
In addition, she was an accomplished author and published the autobiography “Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business,” which was a bestseller in the United States, and later wrote with best-selling author James Patterson, “Run, Rose, Run,” a thriller about a young country music singer with a mysterious background.
Following her death, Parton’s publicity team released a statement which read, “Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand.”
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact,” the team added.
“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.”
Her memory will also live on through a special song that she recorded and never released to the public.
Dolly Parton wrote a secret song called “My Place In History” that was sealed in a “Dream Box” time capsule at Dollywood that is set to be opened around her 100th birthday (January 19, 2046).⁰
What do you think the song will be about? pic.twitter.com/unptaz72z6— FreeThinkerFitness (@FreeThinkerFit) August 25, 2026
The track, titled, “My Place in History” was sealed in a “dream box” time capsule and is set to be opened in 20 years, in honor of her 100th birthday on Jan. 19, 2046.
“I have written a song that nobody’s gonna hear till I’m 99 years old,” Parton previously stated. “I might be there, I might not be.”
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