Miley Cyrus has shared an emotional tribute to her godmother, country music legend Dolly Parton, following news of Parton's death.
In a message posted to Instagram, Cyrus wrote, "The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share. Our most sacred moments were private and they'll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts." She continued, "What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis."
Cyrus closed her tribute by writing, "I will always love her and want to make her proud. My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply. We're in this loss together and we will see her in all of the most beautiful things."
Parton's connection to Cyrus dates back to before Cyrus was born. Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley's father, toured with Parton in the 1990s and asked her to become his daughter's godmother. The bond deepened when Parton played Miley Stewart's Aunt Dolly on "Hannah Montana." "My favorite episodes are the ones with Dolly. That's how her and I became as close as we are," Cyrus told Variety during her March 2026 cover interview.
That same interview revealed Parton's influence on Cyrus's promotional strategy for the "Hannah Montana" 20th-anniversary special. "I learned this terrible habit — but I actually think it was good advice — from Dolly," Cyrus said. "She told me that if you want something to happen, promote it before it exists. Then no one can say no. So I just started promoting a 'Hannah Montana' 20th-anniversary special that literally did not exist."
In a statement sent to Variety in March, Parton praised Cyrus's plans for the special: "When Miley told me she was doing [the anniversary special], I jumped up and down and thought what a brilliant idea. I am so proud of her. We all love Hannah Montana and we all love Miley so how can it miss? Congratulations girl. I love you, Aunt Dolly."
Parton had also defended Cyrus publicly during a turbulent stretch of tabloid coverage over the singer's later teen years. Writing for Time in 2014, Parton said, "If I didn't know how smart and talented Miley is, I might worry about her. But I've watched her grow up. So I don't. She knows what she's doing. She was very proud of the work she did as Hannah Montana, but people were gonna leave her there forever."
The pair's creative partnership extended well beyond the Disney Channel series. They performed "Jolene" together multiple times, including on "The Voice," at the 2019 Grammys and during "Miley's New Year's Eve Party" in 2022. They also co-wrote "Rainbowland" for Cyrus's 2017 album "Younger Now" and recorded a duet on Parton's 2020 Christmas album.
Photo: Angela George at https://www.flickr.com/photos/sharongraphics/, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
