Dolly Parton’s ‘Hannah Montana’ Role Made Her a Godmother to an Entire Generation

“If you keep yourself out of the game for fear of losing, there is no way on this Earth you’re going to win.”

This was the first life lesson Dolly Parton delivered in her earliest appearance on Hannah Montana as the ebullient Aunt Dolly. Parton may have been talking to her on-screen goddaughter Miley Stewart, played by her real-life goddaughter Miley Cyrus , but her words resonated with the audience of young girls watching. In that moment, she wasn’t just acting as a sassy godmother with long acrylic nails, big hair, and a Southern twang — she was becoming a godmother for a whole new generation of young fans who may not have known this was the same icon behind “Jolene.”

When Dolly Parton died on Aug. 25, it felt like the entire world was grieving the rhinestone magic she seemed to spread into every corner of the universe, from music to movies to philanthropy. But for many zillennials, Parton’s loss doubled as the loss of Aunt Dolly, the bold, wise figure we’d come to know and love from her memorable appearances on Hannah Montana .

In a video announcing her death, Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver said, “She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family.” Even Cyrus thought so. “She may be my fairy godmother, but I think she’s that to everyone else too. I am happy to share her with the world,” the singer wrote in 2021 in a piece honoring Parton as one of Time magazine’s most influential people.

From her first appearance on the Disney Channel show in 2006, in an episode aptly titled “Good Golly Miss Dolly,” to her last in 2010, that’s exactly what Parton was. More than just a member of the autofictional Stewart family, she felt like the glamorous fairy godmother who adorned everything with bright pink hues and imparted wisdom and wit all in one go. “Being a teenage girl is harder than walkin’ through a balloon shop with a porcupine purse,” she quipped in her first Hannah Montana episode. Real . By her last episode, she reminded audiences, “It’s never too late to kiss those fears goodbye.” Editor’s picks The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century

As Aunt Dolly, Parton played an exaggerated version of her larger-than-life self, often poking fun at her over-the-top persona. In one scene, she pulls a bubblegum-pink flip phone from her beehive hairdo with the explanation, “Well honey, when your pants are as tight as mine, you got to have somewhere to put your phone!” During her second appearance in Season Two’s “I Will Always Loathe You” (a reference to her 1973 ballad “I Will Always Love You”) Parton upped the ante as she played the foil to Miley’s demure grandmother Mamaw, portrayed by Vicki Lawrence. She dressed in her Cool Aunt best, donning a leather vest and cheetah-print pants and promising to take Miley shopping and buy her something she’ll “actually want to be seen in” after Mamaw had already offered. Parton also helped give the internet one of the best reaction videos when she and Mamaw got into an onstage squabble.