Dolly Parton allowed one special person to be by her side on her deathbed, TMZ has learned.
The country music legend barred nearly everyone from being with her in her final days, the outlet reports, because she didn’t want people to see her as she ailed. However, Parton asked for Cheryl Riddle, her hair and makeup artist for decades, to be present.
Sources close to Parton say Riddle would have had to do the singer’s hair and makeup regardless, so Parton was OK with seeing her before she passed.
Parton was widely known for her signature style and outright glamour, from her kaleidoscopic eyeshadow to her rhinestone outfits, high heels, and larger-than-life blonde locks.
The music icon died on August 25 at age 80 at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Parton was battling an undisclosed form of cancer but had frequent bouts of health issues before her death. In the last year, she had to cancel several scheduled performances.
Her cancer diagnosis was kept under wraps from the public and even most family members, her sister Stella revealed. “Dolly did not want anybody to tell that because Dolly could not bear negative things and she would not have wanted her fans worried about it,” Stella told CBS Mornings’ Gayle King. “She didn’t want a lot of the family worried about it. Some of us knew, the ones that were closer, but not every relative.”
She ultimately “did not want people sad,” her sister said.
Parton secretly flew to Frankfurt, Germany, for experimental treatment before her death last year.
The icon remained discreet after her death, rejecting a public memorial. According to her longtime business partner Danny Nozell, Parton did not want a “traditional memorial.” TMZ reported that the award-winning singer had an open casket service and “looked fantastic.” She was laid to rest in Nashville at the Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum.
According to TMZ, one of the few family members who did see Parton right before her death was her nephew, Bryan Seaver. Seaver, who had broken the news of her death to the public as per Parton’s wish, is now embroiled in an ugly feud with Parton’s estate and manager.
In his video message to Parton’s fans and followers, Seaver revealed one of the “Jolene” singer’s final requests.
“Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton, because after a life wearing heavy rhinestones,” he said, “She finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.”
