Miley Cyrus Is Dolly Parton’s Goddaughter

Tonight, April 12, A&E is airing a documentary titled Biography: Dolly, which takes a look at Dolly Parton’s life from childhood until now. Fans might not know that the superstar is Molly Cyrus’ godmother.

The country music legend is close friends with Cyrus’ father Billy Ray Cyrus.

“I worked with Billy Ray for all those years, when he had ‘Achy Breaky Heart,’” Parton said in a segment on SiriusXM’s Just Jenny. “He worked with me on some shows we did in the early days. He opened some of my shows. We just got to know each other. I wrote a song called ‘Romeo,’ and had him in a video. We just kind of gelled, ’cause we’re both country kids. We had a lot of fun just talking about that. And then when Miley came along, I said, ‘She’s got to be my fairy goddaughter.’”

Parton and Cyrus performed on-stage together in 2019 at the Grammy Awards in a performance honoring Parton in music that also featured Katy Perry. It was Parton’s first return to the Grammy’s stage since 2001.

“Miley’s dear to me,” Parton said on the red carpet before the performance. “I think Miley’s one of the most talented people I know. She’s a great host, her comedic timing is absolutely great… she sings and writes great, and I just love her to pieces, I’m glad she’s mine.”

Parton Does Not Have Children of Her Own

Parton never had any children of her own, but she has been surrounded by nieces and nephews over the years, and she also has Cyrus as her goddaughter. Parton not only plays that role in real life, but she also portrayed the godmother on the hit show Hannah Montanna.

Through the years, Parton has acted as a mentor and godmother for the younger star. She told People that she doesn’t often give her advice, preferring instead to give her a good example to live by.

“I’ve told her some things that I think are valuable and that she uses, but I’d rather live an example, be an example rather than just try to tell somebody to do this, do that because I don’t think that’s right,” she said. “Everybody’s different. You’ve got your own journey. And some people are going to help you along the way and they can kick a few rocks out of the road for you, but you got to walk it.”

Parton Defended Cyrus After Her Divorce

GRAMMYs 2019: Dolly Parton Gushes Over ‘Talented’ Miley Cyrus: ‘I’m Glad She’s Mine!’ (Exclusive)ET talked with Parton at the 2019 GRAMMYs. #GRAMMYs Exclusives from #ETonline : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQwITQ__CeH2Y_7g2xeiNDa0vQsROQQgv2019-02-11T02:10:55.000Z

After her goddaughter’s divorce from Liam Hemsworth, Parton stepped up to defend her and say she trusts Cyrus knows what she’s doing.

She shared that she believed “Miley’s smart” and that “she’s got good stuff in her.” The star continued, saying Cyrus would do everything in her career and she’s proud of her for always doing her own thing.

“Miley is so talented,” Parton said during a press conference promoting the Netflix series Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings. “Miley has such gifts, and I think she’s gonna’ be great. Now other people say, ‘You need to talk to Miley.’ I say, ‘No, I don’t. Miley will be Miley, I’ll be me and everybody needs to do their own thing.’”

Biography: Dolly airs tonight, April 12, 2020 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on A&E.

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