Dolly Parton, who died at 80, spoke openly about family clairvoyance, psychic intuition and dreams and explored angels and the supernatural in her work.
Dolly Parton, the singer, songwriter, actor, philanthropist and one of the most recognizable figures in American popular culture, has died at 80, her family announced Tuesday. Reuters and The Associated Press confirmed her death Aug. 25, 2026. Parton sold more than 100 million records worldwide during a career spanning nearly six decades.
But beyond “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You,” Parton maintained a lesser-known connection to a world familiar to Unknown Country readers: intuition, clairvoyance, prophetic dreams, angels and Appalachian traditions surrounding the unseen.
Speaking about her song “These Old Bones,” Parton said its title came to her in a dream before she created its clairvoyant mountain woman. More strikingly, while discussing the 2019 Netflix adaptation for “Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings,” Parton told TV Insider that psychic ability existed within her own family.
“A lot of people in my family have that clairvoyant gift,” she told TV Insider in 2019, adding, “I have it to a degree myself.” Parton also recalled a psychic telling her mother when Parton was young that the girl was “anointed” and destined to accomplish great things.
Parton also described what she believed was a haunting. In her 1994 autobiography, “Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business,” she recounted hearing unexplained footsteps and faucets running in a locked Nashville home she shared with husband Carl Dean. Later accounts quoting the memoir describe Parton discovering that the people she assumed had entered the house had not returned. The experience left her considering a supernatural explanation.
The supernatural also repeatedly entered her art. “Unlikely Angel,” the 1996 CBS fantasy film Parton starred in and executive produced, follows a dead country singer sent back to Earth by St. Peter to earn her wings. Parton also wrote its title song.
In 2020’s “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square,” which Parton executive produced and supplied with 14 original songs, she played an actual angel guiding a woman toward redemption. Her 2022 “Mountain Magic Christmas” similarly used mysterious “Three Wise Mountain Men” to guide Parton through a spiritual journey into her past.
Behind the rhinestones was a deeply spiritual Appalachian storyteller who was willing to leave room in her worldview for things that could not easily be seen or explained. RIP 💐🕊️
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2 Responses
Parton was unique, and when I heard about her death on the radio yesterday I cried for a long time. A few days earlier, I told my partner that she was dying. I wish I had been wrong…and my mothers family made it to Texas generations ago…via Tennessee.
First and foremost, she was the best example of a truly great human being. In my dreams last night, I heard the words “Saint Dolly”. No one would have a bigger laugh over that than Dolly herself. Her body may “RIP”, but I guaranty her spirit has other plans.
I promise that this is 100% true. A few days ago, the movie…It’s a Wonderful Life…came to mind. I even had the image of Clarence the Angel. May God bless your soul, Dolly.
“Every Time a Bell Rings an Angel Gets His Wings – It’s a Wonderful Life.”