Dolly Parton was Miley Cyrus’ godmother both in real life and on screen.
The Queen of Country, who passed away at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer, played “Aunt Dolly” on the hit Disney show Hannah Montana, which starred Miley Cyrus as Miley Stewart — a regular girl by day and teen pop sensation Hannah Montana by night.
Although Miley has yet to speak out about the tragic loss, her father Billy Ray Cyrus — who also played her on-screen father-slash-manager on Hannah Montana — paid tribute by sharing several sweet pictures of Dolly and Miley, including one on the Hannah Montana set.
“I have so many moments and memories with Dolly, it’s hard to know where to start. Like every little boy, I grew up loving Dolly Parton. She was a part of our lives, on our TV’s, right in our living rooms,” wrote Billy Ray.
The Old Town Road singer revealed that Dolly recently reached out to him with a “beautiful message, telling me she loved me with her whole heart.”
Another Hannah Montana star mourning Dolly was Jason Earles, who played Miley’s brother Jackson Stewart.
“I’m so grateful I got to call her Aunt Dolly on the show,” Earles, 49, wrote. “But the truth is, no matter who you were, she always made you feel like family. I was a fan my whole life and I’ll always cherish the little time I got to spend with her.”
Dolly had always spoken highly about Miley. Appearing on the Howard Stern Show in 2024, she gushed about her goddaughter, “She’s very successful. Miley is very smart. She’s very intuitive about the business, and I just think Miley is a spectacular human being and an amazing talent.”
The duo has also shared the stage on numerous occasions. The last time they performed together was when they co-hosted NBC’s 2023 Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, where they performed hits like I Will Always Love Youand Jolene.
2026-08-26 16:19:00
