Dolly Parton Reflects On Turning 80 Amid Health Concerns: ‘I Ain’t Got Time To Get Old!’

Turning 80 can be difficult for some; however, if you’re as accomplished as Dolly Parton, it’s not so bad.

The “Jolene” singer turned 80 years old on Monday, January 19, and reflected on the major milestone in an interview with People. “People say, ‘Well, you’re going to be 80 years old.’ Well, so what? Look at all I’ve done in 80 years,” Parton told the outlet. “I feel like I’m just getting started.”

Indeed, Parton has had an accomplished career, boasting 11 Grammy wins, earned 25 No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and has 21 of her tracks certified gold or platinum.

“If you allow yourself to get old, you will. I say, ‘I ain’t got time to get old!’ I ain’t got time to dwell on that. That’s not what I’m thinking about,” she continued.

Not only is Parton not concerned about aging, but she’s looking forward to honoring the momentous occasion of turning 80.

“Not that anybody would want to celebrate that, but there is a celebration in the fact that I have done so much in that time and that I’m still doing it,” she said.

“I got to see my dreams come true,” she added.

As Examiner previously reported, a source revealed the country music icon had planned to create a bucket list amid her recent health woes that led to her pressing pause on her upcoming residency in Las Vegas.

“Dolly wants to spend time in London and finally have tea with Princess Kate at the palace,” a source shared in December, alluding to a 2023 interview with Saga, in which Parton revealed she’d received a royal invite but couldn’t make it due to her hectic work schedule. “She [also] wants to go to Australia and see the reef and go on safari in Africa.”