Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus performing onstage during the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy Miley Cyrus is paying tribute to Dolly Parton, the morning after her godmother died Tuesday in Nashville. Parton’s reps told People she died after “brief battle with cancer.”
“The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share,” Cyrus wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday. “Our most sacred moments were private and they’ll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts. 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.”
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As godmother and goddaughter, Parton and Cyrus have had a long-standing relationship, dating back to the latter singer’s starring turn on Hannah Montana. The two-time Oscar nominee appeared in the Disney Channel series as the aunt to Cyrus’ Miley Stewart, and have collaborated with each other many times over the years.
Parton appeared on Cyrus’ 2017 track “Rainbowland” from her Younger Now album; Parton also released a cover of her goddaughter’s No. 1 song “Wrecking Ball” in 2023.
The “9 to 5” singer also recently released a revamped version of her 1977 song “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” that featured Cyrus, Lainey Wilson, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire.
Alongside Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Little Big Town, the “Flowers” singer performed in a tribute for Parton at the 2019 Grammys. They hit the stage together to sing Parton’s hit “Jolene,” while also singing sing “After the Gold Rush” with Morris.
In 2024, Cyrus said that Parton has “been like a mother to me” in an interview with W Magazine. She also commended her godmother’s kindness in a 2017 profile with Cosmopolitan, where she was asked about the perks of their close bond.
“Seriously, watching the way she treats people with love and respect,” Cyrus said. “Always a reminder to me and my family of what is important. Never let success change your heart.”
Cyrus is one of many paying homage to the country legend, joining the likes of her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Jane Fonda and Paul McCartney among many more.
I will always love her and want to make her proud,” Cyrus wrote on Wednesday. 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.”
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