Dolly Parton, the “9 to 5” songwriter and country legend, says she is still recovering from a series of health problems — but insists she has no intention of slowing down.
“I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” Parton told People on Friday, August 21. “It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” she added, recalling that she was “down for several months with female issues” in the early 1980s.
Parton also suggested that the 24/7 nature of social media has made public concern over celebrities’ health more intense than it was in the past.
“I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI!” she said. “Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’.”
The comments come just a week after Parton was unable to attend the opening of Dollywood’s newest ride, NightFlight Expedition, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Instead, she appeared in a video wearing butterfly wings and explained that her doctor had advised her not to travel.
Lord, they dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee.”
— Dolly Parton
“I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I’ve had a few little health issues and sometimes I get a little dizzy and I get dehydrated. And I’m dehydrated,” Parton said in the August 14 video. “So my Nashville doctor has kind of clipped my wings, saying, ‘You ain’t traveling this week.’ So I guess if your doctor tells you, ‘You ain’t traveling this week,’ you ain’t traveling this week.”
Parton’s recent health struggles have also affected her plans to perform. She postponed her Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, originally scheduled for December 2025, before ultimately canceling the run. At the time, she cited “health challenges” that had prevented her from completing the necessary rehearsals.
She has previously been more specific about some of the problems she has been dealing with, including a long history of kidney stones.
“Lord, they dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee,” she joked. “But seriously, my immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past years, and they’re working real hard on rebuilding and strengthening those, and hopefully I’ll be up to snuff again soon.”
Parton’s decision to pay more attention to her own health came after years of putting other concerns first. In her latest interview, she said she had neglected some of her health issues while caring for her husband, Carl Dean.
Dean died in March 2025 at the age of 82, after 58 years of marriage to Parton. She has previously acknowledged that the grief surrounding his death took a physical and emotional toll.
When Parton made her first major public appearance in several months in March, she said she had become “worn down and worn out” while grieving for Dean and dealing with other issues.
“I just got myself kind of where I needed to build myself back up spiritually, emotionally, and physically,” she said at the time. “But, all is good. It didn’t slow me down.”
Concern over Parton’s health intensified last year after her sister Freida asked fans to pray for her. Freida later clarified that she had not intended to make the situation sound as serious as some had assumed, and Parton subsequently appeared in a video to reassure fans.
“I know lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am,” Parton said. “Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here.”
And that remains the message Parton is emphasizing now. Despite her ongoing recovery, she continues to work on a slate of projects, including the forthcoming Life of Many Colors Museum in Nashville, which will celebrate her life and career.
Her musical journey began with a small-bodied Martin acoustic guitar, which she later lost in a house fire — a remarkable early chapter in the story of the woman who would go on to become one of the most successful songwriters and performers in country music.
The museum is being billed as the largest exhibition devoted to Parton anywhere in the world, giving fans an opportunity to get an up-close look at the life and career of the “I Will Always Love You” songwriter.
