The Tragic Truth About Dolly Parton's Health Issues

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Dolly Parton has spent well over half a century in the public eye, with no signs of slowing down. But her health forced her to take what she hoped to be a minor step back. In September 2025, Parton had to miss an event at Dollywood after experiencing health struggles. "I know, I'm here and you're there and wondering why that is," she said in a televised appearance. "I had a little problem. I had a kidney stone." She also developed an infection, a complication that can arise if the stone blocks the ureter.

The legendary country star reassured her fans that she would be back to business in no time. "Don't worry about me, I'm gonna be okay. Just can't do it today," she said. However, her health issues seemingly turned out to be a bit more serious than she had anticipated. Later that month, Parton also postponed the Las Vegas residency scheduled for December 2025, citing an inability to prepare the way she would like to. 

Parton shared that she has to undergo unspecified treatment. "As many of you know, I've been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures," she wrote on Instagram. While vague, she used her impeccable sense of humor to ease fans' worries. "It must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up," she joked. We're sure she'll share more when she's ready. After all, this isn't the first time she has taken a cautious approach to her health issues.

While she has been relatively open about her health later in life, Dolly Parton experienced some hush-hush medical issues in her youth. Even though Parton keeps no secret about her plastic surgeries, it took her years to go public about her endometriosis diagnosis. Her health journey began in her 30s, when Parton was unable to fall pregnant. Then she began to experience painful symptoms. "All at once I fell apart. It was stomach problems and female problems — all over health problems actually," she told Ladies' Home Journal in 1984, a conversation that was shared in the 2017 book, "Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton" (via CheatSheet).

Two years before that interview, Parton had been rushed to the hospital after she collapsed on stage. Doctors stopped the internal bleeding and had to decide whether she would need to undergo gynecological surgery, UPI reported. She ended up having to have a partial hysterectomy to remove her uterus, putting a definitive end to her hopes of ever becoming a mother. She was 36. "Suddenly I was a middle-aged woman. I went through a dark time," she wrote in the book (via Hello!).

Parton was later diagnosed with endometriosis, a condition in which uterus-like lining grows outside of the uterus and can lead to fertility issues and severe pain. Her health crisis affected her mental health, leading to a two-year struggle with depression. "It was a really bad time," she told Closer in 2018. 

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.