Dolly Parton’s niece Jada Star shares emotional reason she kept cancer diagnosis private
Dolly Parton’s death may have come as a shock to millions, but her family knew the country icon had been facing serious health struggles behind the scenes.
The '9 to 5' singer died last Tuesday (25 August) at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement from her representative.
The type of cancer was not disclosed.
Her death was announced by her nephew Bryan Seaver in a video shared to Parton’s Instagram, with her family describing the loss as one filled with both pride and sadness.
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Now, Parton’s niece Jada Star is opening up about why her aunt chose to keep her diagnosis private.
"She never wanted to worry anybody," Jada told Extra in a new interview. "You know, we kind of kept all that stuff real private."
For Jada, the privacy was very much in keeping with who Dolly was. While the family knew about her health struggles and cancer diagnosis, her death still came as a 'shock'.
And while the world is mourning a global icon, Jada is grieving someone much closer to home.
"I can’t remember a life without her," she said.
The family has since found some comfort in the outpouring of love for Dolly, with tributes coming from fans, fellow stars and the wider country music community.
"It’s also been really bittersweet because of this beautiful opportunity we've had to see how much the whole world loves her," Jada explained. "So, all of these tributes have helped so much to help us all through it."
Naturally, Dolly also left her family with some very Dolly-esque instructions for what comes next.
"She would also tell us to start drying it up and start trying to get back to work," Jada joked. "And to love each other real hard. Yeah, she was just a trip."
Jada also honoured her aunt through music, joining the Grand Ole Opry’s tribute to Dolly last week (29 August) and performing 'The Orchard'.
She admitted she hoped Dolly would have been proud of the performance, especially given the advice her aunt had always given her.
"She had a different set of advice for every single person on the earth. And for me, my advice I frequently got was, 'Why are you worried about what other people think?'" Jada shared.
"I just thought of that when I was out there," she said, adding that she could feel her aunt’s light 'everywhere' during the performance.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Rhiannon Ingle