Dolly Parton has had to miss two significant ceremonies as she continues to follow her doctors’ orders amid some “health challenges.”

The legendary singer, songwriter and entrepreneur, 79, was unable to attend her recent induction into the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions’ Hall of Fame. That organization and Parton’s Dollywood shared the video she sent instead on social media earlier this week.

“I sure wish I could be with you in person today, but you probably heard that I’ve been dealing with a few health challenges this fall, and my doctors told me to take it easy for just a little while,” she said in the video. “I’m truly sorry I can’t be there, but I sure wanted to take the chance to say thank you for this incredible honor.”

It happened a day after Parton also skipped picking up her honorary Oscar at the 16th annual Academy Governors Awards.

Social media has been the “Jolene” singer’s mode of communication and how she has shared recent updates in the wake of fans’ concerns about her health.

In September, Parton postponed a series of planned December concerts in Las Vegas, citing “health challenges.”

The following month she felt compelled to again address those health challenges after her sister, Freida Parton, inadvertently caused a panic after she posted that she had been “up all night praying for my sister, Dolly.”

Dolly Parton consequently posted a video of herself, in full glam, explaining that she was ok, just dealing with some health issues.

Since the death of her husband, Carl Dean, in March, she had “let a lot of things go that I should’ve been taking care of.”

“So, anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said, ‘We need to take care of this, we need to take care of that,’” she said at the time. “Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home.”

Parton and Dean were married for almost 60 years.

The One Childhood Dream Dolly Parton Never Got To Live

With a legendary music career and an estimated net worth of around $650 million (and growing), Dolly Parton now lives a lavish life that’s a far cry from her humble beginnings in rural Tennessee. She’s achieved many of the things she set out to do and, thanks to Parton’s charitable endeavors, she’s helped make the dreams of thousands of other people come true as well. However, despite her success, the “Jolene” singer has some regrets that are beyond even her power and wealth to resolve. She revealed one of them during an interview with Reverb in 2017, sharing that it was related to a beloved guitar of hers. According to Parton, she used to only borrow the instruments of her musically inclined family members before her Uncle Lewis gifted her a small guitar that she could call her own when she was 8 years old. “He had this little Martin guitar that I loved, so when he saw how serious I was about my music, he gave me his little Martin guitar. It was my treasure,” she recalled.

The acoustic guitar, believed to be a small-bodied Martin 5-18, accompanied the country music icon throughout her childhood and the early days of her singing career. Parton adored it so much that she planned to have it repaired when she could finally afford to do so, but unfortunately, she never got to live out this childhood dream. “When I left home at 18, I put [the guitar] in the loft because it was beat up. My plan was always to — when I got money, when I got rich and famous — have it fixed up. But the loft burned out of our house, and burned up my guitar, so I only have the neck of that one,” she told the outlet.

Parton achieved a different childhood dream amid objections from her team

Though Dolly Parton can play several other instruments, the guitar will always hold a special place in her heart, especially since it’s what she mainly uses for songwriting. And her first-ever guitar might be the most special of all, considering it was likely from there that her first single, “Puppy Love,” was born. But while she couldn’t restore her beloved Martin guitar, she’s since gathered a significant collection of the same model, which she dubbed the “baby Martins,” according to Reverb. She seemingly showed off one of her baby Martins in a January 2025 Facebook post by posting a photo of her playing an acoustic guitar in a studio and writing: “Just a girl and her guitar.”

Though a fire ruined one dream, Parton was able to turn another one into a reality. In 2012, she told NPR that she created her iconic Dollywood theme park because she’d always wanted to give back to her family and her community. “I’d always thought if I do make or when I make it, I want to do something great back home to honor my father and mother, and … have the … family be proud of me up there and all the folks in that area,” she said. “So I’d had that dream to have Dollywood.” According to Parton, her idea faced pushback from her team at the time, but she forged ahead anyway. The result? A tourist attraction that has created thousands of jobs for Parton’s hometown. “I just feel that this is the right thing to do,” she explained. “So I went over their heads and did it anyway. And as you can see, it’s a huge success. And, needless to say, I don’t use those people anymore.”

Dolly Parton on Her Legacy, Turning 80 and Her Future: ‘I Ain’t Got Time to Get Old!’ (Exclusive)

The Queen of Country looks back on her performing career in her new book ‘Star of the Show: My Life on Stage’

Here she comes again!

With the release of her new book Star of the Show: My Life on Stage, Dolly Parton spoke with PEOPLE to discuss her seven-decade career, what she’s learned — and what’s next.

“You know, I have just been going so fast my whole life,” Parton, 79, says. “And I just start thinking, ‘How in the world did I even have a life? How did I even get it done?’ I really realized when I was putting this book together just how much I had sacrificed in my life. I never had children, so at least I didn’t have a guilty feeling. I’m thankful that I got to see my dreams come true.”

Parton was forced to slow down this fall: Nearly two months after sitting with PEOPLE, she postponed a string of concerts because of “health challenges” following a kidney stone-related infection. But she’s facing the next decade with her trademark sense of humor and tenacity.

“People say, ‘Well, you’re going to be 80 years old.’ Well, so what? Look at all I’ve done in 80 years. I feel like I’m just getting started,” she says. “I know that sounds stupid, but unless my health gives way, which right now I seem to be doing fine . . . I think there’s a lot to be said about age. If you allow yourself to get old, you will. I say, ‘I ain’t got time to get old!’ I ain’t got time to dwell on that. That’s not what I’m thinking about.”

Parton breaking ground at her Dollywood amusement park in 1985.Credit: Courtesy of Dolly Parton & Dollywood

Hosting Oprah Winfrey on her variety show, ‘Dolly,’ in 1987.Credit: Julie Fineman/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Performing with “Islands in the Stream” duet partner Kenny Rogers in 1989.Credit: Courtesy of Dolly Parton

Instead she’s reflecting on how far she’s come — and the decisions that shaped her groundbreaking career. Inheriting her tobacco farmer father Robert’s work ethic and her homemaker mother Avie’s creativity, Parton yearned to sing for an audience at a young age. After high school she moved to Nashville and became country star Porter Wagoner’s duet partner on his TV show, making a name for herself with hits like “Jolene” and “Coat of Many Colors” before they parted ways in 1974.

Parton, who founded her Imagination Library in 1995, read to kids at the Library of Congress in 2018.Credit: Shawn Miller

Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty

“I knew I had to keep going,” Parton says. “I couldn’t be Porter’s girl singer forever because God had a bigger purpose for me, and I had bigger dreams of my own.”

She faced industry sexism as she went her own way. But Parton managed to make a pop crossover as a solo artist before conquering Hollywood in the 1980s.

“You have to grow into things, and you have to grow out of things; that’s how I handled my career,” Parton says. “I needed to try things. A lot of people think because you’re a girl, you don’t always know what you’re doing. I don’t care about what other people are doing. I only care about what I need to be doing.”

She relied on her determination, her steadfast Christian faith and her gut. “I don’t try to tell other people how to do it, how to be, but I know who I am,” Parton says. “I’m a star to everybody but me. I’m just a working girl. I always just say that I’m a workhorse that looks like a show horse.”

Today she’s one of the most beloved artists of all time, with an Emmy, 11 Grammys, 25 No. 1 hits and more than 100 million albums sold. Her ever-expanding empire also spans resorts, streaming projects, fragrances and even frozen foods and cookware.

“I’m not trying to outdo anybody except me. I just want to be my best self at all times and try to improve every day,” she says. “It wasn’t about just being rich; it was about being successful at what I love to do. Dreams nor wishes come true without a lot of hard work.”

In March, Carl Dean, Parton’s ultra-private husband of 58 years, died at 82. While Parton took care of Dean and grieved his death, she neglected her own health. In September she canceled a public appearance over her kidney stone issues, then announced that she would be postponing her upcoming Las Vegas residency from December to September 2026. Fans feared the worst, but Parton set the record straight in an Oct. 8 Instagram video, saying “Lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick?” Parton said. “I wanted you to know that I’m not dying.”

These days Parton is grateful for what she’s accomplished and gearing up for what’s next (including her stage production Dolly: A True Original Musical, which is set to open on Broadway in 2026).

“I’m at that point in my life where I just want to be able to do good things that can be carried on. I’m proud of my legacy so far, and I hope to just continue to do things that might be of use to other people,” she says.

Adds Parton of sharing her joys and sorrows with the public: “I’ve had to wear my heart on my sleeve for a long time now, and I cry easier than I used to. But it’s just leaving your life wide open for everybody to look right at you, right through you and right into you … I hope they see my heart.”

Dolly Parton’s new book Star of the Show: My Life on Stage is out now.

 

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