‘Angel by my side’: Miley Cyrus pays tribute to her ‘Aunt Dolly’

Miley Cyrus has paid tribute to her godmother in an emotional Instagram post, saying her feelings following Dolly Parton’s death were “beyond what feels right to share”.

Parton, who died aged 80 on Wednesday (AEST), became Cyrus’ godmother after her good friend Billy Ray Cyrus asked her in the early ’90s after they toured together.

While Cyrus was acting on Disney’s hit show Hannah Montana , Parton featured in numerous episodes as a recurring character, “Aunt Dolly”.

“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,” Cyrus wrote on Instagram on Thursday morning (AEST).

“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.

“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 was a huge part of Cyrus’ life even before she was born, and in 2023 on The Howard Stern Show recalled speaking with her father Billy Ray when he was touring with Parton to promote his 1992 single Achy Breaky Heart .

“We just got to be good friends because he’s a Kentucky boy, I’m from Tennessee,” Parton said. “And he said … ‘We’re having a girl, and you’ve got to be her godmother!’ And I said, ‘Well, I’d be honoured’,” she told Stern.

After her Disney career ended in 2011, Miley Cyrus pursued music. She embraced a controversial makeover, completely left-field of her polished Disney persona, and developed a rock’n’roll image with a pop edge.

Cyrus and Parton began performing and collaborating musically together. They co-hosted a 2023 New Year’s Eve program, according to People magazine, and collaborated on a version of Cyrus’ hit Wrecking Ball .

Discography aside, Cyrus’ rendition of Parton’s Jolene gave new energy to the 1973 song. The pair also performed the song numerous times together, much to fans’ delight, as Parton’s country twang harmonises well with Cyrus’ gritty voice.

In a September 2024 interview with Access Hollywood , Parton learnt that the DNA-tracking company Ancestry discovered the two shared an ancestor.

“Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus are seventh cousins, once removed! Their common ancestor is John Brickey, born in 1740 in Virginia,” an Ancestry statement said.

“He later moved to Blount County, Tennessee, with his wife and children and remained there until his death in 1806. The Brickey family originated from France, and the family came to the United States in the late 1600s.”