Dolly Parton passed away at the age of 80. Amid her death, her statement that Scotland felt like home has resurfaced as locals trace her lineage back to a Stirlingshire native.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleDolly Parton passed away at the age of 80 on August 25, 2026, after a brief battle with cancer. The singer had been struggling with her health for a while and has now joined her husband, Carl Dean, in heaven. While the country music legend was alive, she often shared that Scotland felt like home to her. However, days after her death, it was revealed that Dolly did, in fact, share a link with Scotland.
Dolly Parton's death came as a massive shock to everyone. However, while she ruled millions of hearts, Scotland held a special place in her heart, as she would often link visiting the land to "coming home". And as it turns out, deep down, it was indeed her home. While Dolly couldn't connect the dots in her lifetime, a genealogist provided that answer after her death.
According to reports, a genealogist traced her family line back to a man born in Stirlingshire more than three centuries ago. They placed one of Dolly Parton's ancestors in Stirlingshire. As per the findings, the I Will Always Love You singer had a great-great-great-great-grandfather named Moses McArthur, born around 1717 in Kincardine, whose line eventually crossed into Appalachia.
While little is known about Moses McArthur, the link explains why Dolly Parton felt such a close bond with Scotland. Amid the revelation, Dolly's previous statements about the country have also surfaced, in which she candidly spoke about her connection with the land.
Long before the genealogist placed Dolly Parton as someone with an actual link with Scotland, she had felt a pull towards the land. In an interview back in 2020 with STV's Laura Boyd, Dolly had claimed that her music landed the hardest in Scotland and Ireland because they understood where she came from. The singer alleged that they felt a connection to her music and her story of "growing up poor, big families, working hard, trying to make a living, having faith in God, believing God's gonna help us through."
However, her connection to Scotland was not just a matter of name; when she was asked whether Scotland could claim her as its own, Dolly Parton didn't hesitate for a second. She gave an affirmative answer and said she knew she was part Scottish, though she didn't know which part. She was quoted as saying:
"Yeah, I am one of your own. I'm part Scottish, but I don't know which part. I know a lot of it is in my voice and in my singing."
For those who are not aware, Dolly Parton was born in 1946 in a one-room cabin in Locust Ridge, Tennessee. She was the fourth of 12 children, and her Scots-Irish forebears carried the ballad traditions that shaped the old-time music on which she built a career. Her first trip to Scotland came in 1977, when she performed in Glasgow for Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, a night she called one of the biggest thrills of her life.
Dolly Parton passed away on August 25, 2026. Her death was confirmed by her team in a statement to PEOPLE. In a statement to the news outlet, Dolly's team revealed that the 'queen of country music' passed away after a brief battle with cancer. The singer was admitted to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville on August 21, 2026. Four days later, she passed away.
What are your thoughts on Dolly Parton's connection to Scotland?
Next Read: Frederic Fekkai Once Dated Johnson And Johnson Heiress Libet, Inside Their Tabloid Romance And Split