Dolly Parton, US country music legend and cultural icon, dies at 80

Dolly Parton, the country music star who rose from grinding poverty in Tennessee to become a rhinestone-studded cultural icon with hits like “Jolene” and “9 to 5”, has died at 80, her family said on Tuesday.

Parton was more than a singer – she wrote 3,000 songs, acted in major Hollywood films and donated millions of dollars to charities in her home state and beyond.

She was also an accomplished businesswoman, with her interests spanning from her popular Dollywood theme park to cosmetics, pet apparel, baking mixes and even a truck stop.

“Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus,” her nephew Bryan Seaver said in a video announcing her death on social media.

He said the multiple award-winning artist – known for her glittering style, curvy figure and larger-than-life blonde wigs – had “opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life”.

Parton died after “a brief battle with cancer,” her representatives told US media. Parton had recently spoken about unspecified health challenges. Her husband Carl Dean died last year.