Reba McEntire missed a call from Dolly Parton before her death

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Sep 26, 2026 10:27am PT

Reba McEntire Says She Missed a Call from Dolly Parton Before Her Death and ‘Couldn’t’ Get Back in Touch: ‘I’ll Never Know Why She Called’

By Tanya Fedak

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Tanya Fedak

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Reba McEntire revealed her longtime friend Dolly Parton tried to get in touch with her just before she died.

The country singer and actress shared that she missed a call from Parton, who died Aug. 25 after a “brief battle” with cancer , and was unable to get in touch with her one final time.

“She did call me the last of July, and I was in a meeting and I missed her call,” McEntire told Entertainment Tonight . “I tried to get back in touch with her and I couldn’t, never made a connection. And then when my buddy called me and said, ‘Dolly’s gone,’ I thought, ‘I’ll never know why she called me.’”

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_Originally reported by [Variety Music](https://variety.com/2026/music/news/reba-mcentire-dolly-parton-missed-call-1236876408/)._