Miley Cyrus Remembers Godmother Dolly Parton in Tribute Post
Dolly Parton, the country music icon, died on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at age 80, her team announced. The cause was described as a brief cancer illness. Days later, her goddaughter Miley Cyrus posted a tribute on Instagram, referring to Parton as "Aunt Dolly" — the same name Parton used when she guest-starred on Cyrus's Disney show Hannah Montana. Parton became Miley's godmother at the request of Miley's father, fellow country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.
What Cyrus Wrote
Cyrus wrote that losing "Aunt Dolly" felt like more than she was willing to share publicly, noting that their most sacred moments happened offstage, in private. She said Parton would have wanted her to turn the grief into a song and keep moving forward.
She recalled that one of their last conversations touched on music and "metamorphosis," closing her post with: "I will always love her and want to make her proud," and extending condolences to Parton's family and friends.
A Decades-Long Collaboration
Beyond the Hannah Montana cameo, Parton and Cyrus worked together repeatedly once Cyrus launched her solo career. On Parton's 2020 album A Holly Dolly Christmas, Cyrus sang on the track "Christmas Is," alongside contributions from Billy Ray Cyrus, Michael Bublé, Jimmy Fallon and Willie Nelson.
Parton said at the time she never asked Cyrus to release the song as a single, but insisted she and Billy Ray both take part because "you're like family." At a 2022 New Year's Eve show, the two performed a mashup of "Wrecking Ball" and "I Will Always Love You," and over the years they also sang "Jolene" together on multiple occasions.
Tributes From Across the Industry
According to a roundup by NME, tributes following the announcement came from Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Cyndi Lauper, Oprah, Barbra Streisand, Jack White, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kelly Clarkson, Debbie Harry, Shania Twain, Barack Obama and Beyoncé. Donald Trump ordered flags across the United States flown at half-staff for a week.
Parton's philanthropic work was also widely noted: her Imagination Library program has distributed more than 300 million books to children worldwide, she donated to relief efforts for Hurricane Helene victims, and she helped fund COVID-19 vaccine research. NME's obituary, written by Jordan Bassett, referenced her 2014 Glastonbury performance and the story behind her 1971 song "Coat Of Many Colors," about a coat her mother sewed for her by hand.