Dolly Parton's Sister Breaks Silence on Singer's Final Days

Stella Parton gave her first interview since the death of her sister Dolly Parton this week, telling "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King that the country music icon deliberately concealed her cancer diagnosis to shield fans from worry. "She did not want people sad," Stella Parton said in the wide-ranging conversation, which aired Thursday. "She'd be really happy and delighted that people have shown her so much love."

Dolly Parton died August 25 at 80, at Nashville's Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, following what her representatives described publicly at the time only as a "brief battle with cancer." The family has not disclosed the type of cancer or exactly how long she had been ill. Stella Parton, 77, herself a singer-songwriter, told King that knowledge of the diagnosis was tightly held even within the famously large Parton family. "Some of us knew, the ones of us that were closer," she said, adding that Dolly "could not bear negative things" and would not have wanted her illness to become a public spectacle before she was ready.

In the interview, portions of which were also carried by Billboard, Stella Parton described her sister's final request of her: simply to be kept in her prayers. She said Dolly was "prepared and at peace" when she died, a detail that has offered some comfort to a family navigating grief in public view, given her sister's stature as one of the most beloved figures in American music.

Stella Parton's remarks also touched on a more pointed note. She said in the interview that, in the more than two weeks since Dolly's death, she has not personally heard from anyone within Nashville's country music establishment — a claim that stood out against the wave of public tributes from fans and celebrities that followed the announcement of Dolly Parton's death. She did not name specific individuals or organizations, and CBS Mornings did not press her further on the point during the aired portion of the conversation.

Dolly Parton's death last month prompted an outpouring across the entertainment industry and beyond, reflecting a career that spanned more than six decades, dozens of albums, an Oscar-nominated songwriting catalog, and philanthropic work — including her Imagination Library children's literacy program — that extended well past music. Her sister's interview marks one of the first extended, on-the-record family accounts of the singer's final weeks, offering fans a more intimate picture than the brief public statements issued around the time of her death.

Stella Parton has long maintained her own recording career, distinct from her sister's, dating back to albums released in the 1970s. Her decision to speak now, in a wide-ranging sit-down rather than a brief statement, suggests the family may continue to share more about Dolly Parton's final period in the weeks ahead, even as official details about her illness remain limited to what representatives disclosed at the time of her death.

The full interview aired on "CBS Mornings," with additional excerpts released via CBS News' video platform.