To the world, Dolly Parton was a country music legend, songwriter, actress and philanthropist. To Miley Cyrus, she was simply “Dolly”—her godmother, mentor and, in many ways, a second mother.
Parton, who died at 80 on August 25, had known Cyrus since the singer was born in 1992. Miley’s father, country star Billy Ray Cyrus, was already close friends with Parton when he asked her to become his daughter’s godmother.
Parton immediately agreed.
“I’ve known her since she was a baby,” Parton said during a 2009 interview with Good Morning America. “Her father’s a friend of mine. And when she was born, he said, ‘You just have to be her godmother,’ and I said, ‘I accept.’”
There was never a formal ceremony, but Parton said the relationship was no less meaningful.
“We never did do a big ceremony, but I’m so proud of her, love her and she’s just like one of my own,” she said.
A friendship with Billy Ray Cyrus became a lifelong family bond
Parton’s connection to Miley began with her friendship with Billy Ray.
The two met in 1992, when Billy Ray was touring with Parton after the success of his breakout country hit “Achy Breaky Heart.”
“We just got to be good friends,” Parton explained during a 2024 appearance on The Howard Stern Show. “He’s a Kentucky boy. I’m from Tennessee.”
That friendship eventually turned into something much deeper.
Parton watched Miley grow up and remained a trusted presence throughout the younger singer’s transformation from child performer to international star.
Over the years, Parton repeatedly spoke about how proud she was of her goddaughter.
When asked whether Miley sought her advice about the entertainment business, Parton said Miley would often run things by her.
“She’s very successful. Miley is very smart. She’s very intuitive about the business,” Parton said. “I just think Miley is a spectacular human being and an amazing talent.”
Their professional relationship grew alongside their personal one
Miley and Parton did far more than share a family connection.
They became frequent musical collaborators, performing together on some of the biggest stages and working on projects that introduced each artist to another generation of fans.
One of their early major performances together came in 2010 during the Hallmark special Dolly Celebrates 25 Years of Dollywood, when they performed Parton’s classic “Jolene.”
They reunited for “The Voice” in 2016 and performed the song again at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
Miley had also put her own spin on “Jolene” during a 2012 Backyard Sessions performance.
Their collaborations continued into the next decade.
Parton appeared on Miley’s 2017 album Younger Now for the song “Rainbowland,” while Miley was featured on Parton’s 2023 rock album Rockstar.
For the album, Parton recorded a version of Miley’s 2013 hit “Wrecking Ball.”
“I just felt honored,” Parton said of working with Miley. “I love that song, and I love Miley.”
Their emotional New Year’s Eve performance
The pair continued performing together well into Miley’s adult career.
In 2023, they co-hosted NBC’s Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, appearing together in matching leopard-print outfits.
Parton later described the experience as the “thrill of [her] life.”
The performances were emotional for both women.
Parton recalled that Miley cried during rehearsals as they sang together.
“The fact that we were singing so well together stirred up our emotions very much,” Parton said in a 2023 interview with Business Insider.
The emotion intensified when they performed “I Will Always Love You,” one of Parton’s most famous compositions.
“She would just have these tears coming down and it was so emotional,” Parton recalled.
Parton became ‘Aunt Dolly’ to Hannah Montana fans
Their relationship also became part of television history.
Parton appeared as “Aunt Dolly” in several episodes of Miley’s Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, which aired from 2006 to 2011.
For Parton, the show introduced her to a completely new generation.
“We just worked so great together,” Parton said in a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair. “And thanks to her, I had a whole new following of people that were turned on to me.”
She jokingly described herself as Miley’s “fairy godmother” and said the younger viewers who discovered her through the show became a new audience for her music.
Miley, meanwhile, was growing up with one of country music’s most influential women as a constant presence in her life.
Miley said Dolly was like a mother to her
The relationship eventually became much more than that of a traditional godmother and goddaughter.
In a 2024 interview with W Magazine, Miley described Parton as a mother figure.
“Dolly’s been like a mother to me,” she said.
Miley also recalled receiving a fax from Parton around Mother’s Day.
Parton had written to her: “How much do I love you? As much as my heart can hold and as far as my arms can reach.”
The message left Miley emotional.
“It gets me choked up,” she said.
Parton also had a playful way of showing her affection. Miley revealed that one Christmas, her godmother gave her a mannequin made to Parton’s own proportions and dressed in one of her signature outfits.
“It’s so major,” Miley said.
Miley called Dolly ‘the world’s best godmother’
Miley has never been shy about praising Parton.
During a 2022 appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, she called Parton the “world’s best godmother” and said she felt incredibly lucky to have her in her life.
She also revealed one of the quirks that made their relationship particularly amusing: Parton’s famously old-fashioned approach to technology.
Rather than communicating normally by phone, Parton often sent Miley faxes.
Miley explained that a fax would be scanned, converted into a text message and then sent to her.
On another occasion, Parton recorded a demo using a cassette, a flip phone and eventually an iPhone before it reached Miley.
“She has a phone,” Miley joked. “She just doesn’t use it.”
Despite the technological detour, Miley clearly treasured those unusual messages.
Dolly’s advice helped shape Miley’s career
Miley has also credited Parton with giving her advice that influenced the way she approached her own work.
While promoting a special celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hannah Montana earlier in 2026, Miley recalled one of her favorite pieces of advice from Parton.
“Start promoting something before it’s real, because then as people get excited, it’ll be easier to make it happen,” Parton had told her.
Miley said she followed that advice when she began talking publicly about a possible Hannah Montana anniversary special before one officially existed.
She used the excitement surrounding the idea to help demonstrate to Disney how much interest there was in bringing the character back.
Miley admired more than Dolly’s talent
Miley also believed Parton’s greatest strength was her ability to make other artists feel like themselves rather than trying to turn them into copies of her.
After performing Parton’s “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” on Saturday Night Live in 2021, Miley said Parton loved the interpretation.
“She loves when I introduce my fans to music in a way that’s still me,” Miley explained.
She added that Parton did not want other artists simply to “copy [and] paste” her music. Instead, she wanted them to bring their own identity to it.
Miley believed that was part of the reason Parton had become so universally beloved.
“She’s the most loved person on the planet,” Miley said.
She added that Parton had left such an enormous mark on the world that everyone else was essentially trying to fill her “crystallized shoes”—something she believed would never happen.
Miley stood by Dolly as her health declined
When Parton began dealing with health problems in 2025, Miley continued to speak warmly about her godmother.
Parton postponed her Las Vegas residency in September 2025 because of health challenges and later canceled the engagement.
Miley offered an update on Parton during an interview with Entertainment Tonight in December 2025.
“She’s always gonna keep the show going,” Miley said. “The show must go on. She’s just excited to get back to work.”
Parton continued working until the final months of her life.
Her last public appearance came in June 2026 at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop. She also announced in July that she was working on the Broadway production of Dolly: A True Original Musical.
Parton died on August 25 at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer.
Billy Ray Cyrus’ emotional farewell
Miley had not publicly addressed Parton’s death at the time of the original report, but her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, shared an emotional tribute.
Billy Ray recalled growing up watching Parton on television and said she had always been part of his family’s life.
He also remembered a particularly awkward moment from 1992, when tabloid stories falsely claimed that he was having an affair with Parton.
Billy Ray said he went into Parton’s dressing room to apologize for the stories.
In true Dolly fashion, she reportedly winked at him and replied, “Honey, this trash sells records!”
Billy Ray also revealed that Parton had recently sent him a deeply personal message telling him that she loved him with her whole heart.
“I will always love her in the same way,” he wrote. “With my whole heart … and I always will.”
A bond that went far beyond show business
For decades, Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus shared far more than a family title.
They were collaborators, performers, confidantes and, most importantly, family.
Parton helped guide Miley from childhood into adulthood while respecting her individuality and encouraging her to find her own voice.
Miley, in turn, became one of the younger artists who carried Parton’s music and influence into a new generation.
From Hannah Montana to the Grammy stage, from “Jolene” to “Rainbowland” and “Wrecking Ball,” their professional lives repeatedly intersected.
But behind all those performances was the simpler relationship that mattered most.
Miley called her “Dolly.”
And Dolly called Miley one of her own.