The biggest names in music, including Elton John, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Taylor Swift and Beyonce, have detailed her impact and her legacy, as both a musician and a humanitarian.
Landmarks around the US were lit up pink in her honour, including the Empire State Building in New York, the Willis Tower in Chicago and the Pacific Park Ferris Wheel in Los Angeles.
In Britain, the Band of the Coldstream Guards played 9 To 5, one of her biggest hits, on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace during Changing the Guard on Friday.
News of Parton's death was announced by her family on Tuesday night, and her publicist, Marcel Pariseau, said: "After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centre surrounded by loved ones."
The singer, 80, was best known for her genre-defining hits including 9 To 5, I Will Always Love You and Jolene.
The statement continued: "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."
The type of cancer was not disclosed.
Parton's death was announced late on Tuesday via an Instagram video by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, who also served as the singer's head of security.
He said it was "an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness" to share the news of her death, adding: "But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.
"Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens."
Parton's husband Carl Dean died in 2025 aged 82.
Flags will be lowered throughout America in Parton's honour, US President Donald Trump announced, posting on Truth Social "there has never been anyone like her".
Jane Fonda, who starred in the film 9 To 5 with Parton and was a lifelong friend, said she was "devastated", adding: "I know that millions are mourning and I want to say this - more than anyone I have ever known, Dolly will always be with us because she was so present, so powerful, so generous and playful that she is woven into all our lives and hearts forever."
Singer Elton John said Parton was "a giant of an artist - unique and irreplaceable, with the kindest heart"; while Taylor Swift said "a world without Dolly doesn't feel possible, real, or right"; and Beyonce, who worked with Parton on her 2024 album Cowboy Carter, said "I am grateful for your art, your heart, your generosity, your humour, your entrepreneurship".
In May, Parton pulled out of a highly anticipated Las Vegas residency, which was due to begin in September.
She had already postponed her six-date run at the Colosseum Theatre at Caesars Palace from December 2025 to deal with "health challenges".
At Parton's request, a small, private funeral service will be held for immediate family, a statement from her family on social media said.
Parton was a savvy businesswoman with an empire that included a theme park, aptly named Dollywood, and a pioneering philanthropist.
Imagination Library, a program devoted to inspiring a love of reading in children, has given more than 300 million books to youngsters.
She was also a supporter of several charities for Black and LGBTQI communities, as well as the Barbara Davis Centre for Childhood Diabetes, Save the Music Foundation and the Boot Campaign.
In 2020, she donated $US1 million ($1.4 million) to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University, which helped fund Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.
Parton was also a prolific songwriter, who penned I Will Always Love You - one of the defining love songs of the 20th century - as a goodbye to her former creative partner, Porter Wagoner, who hired her to be his sidekick on his eponymous TV show and helped her land a record deal.
The song became a blockbuster hit when Whitney Houston recorded a cover for the 1992 film, The Bodyguard.
Parton was born in a single-room cabin in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, in 1946, the fourth of 12 children.
She began her musical journey at the age of six, singing in the local church where her grandfather was the pastor.
By the age of 13, she had reached the pinnacle of country music success: an appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
Over the course of her career, which spanned more than 60 years, Parton sold more than 100 million records worldwide and wrote more than 3000 songs, including hits Coat Of Many Colors and Joshua.
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