Miley Cyrus is sending her flowers to Dolly Parton.
The “We Can’t Stop” singer paid tribute to the beloved country star, who died at the age of 80 on Aug. 25.
“The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share,” Cyrus wrote in an Aug. 26 Instagram post. “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,” she continued. “I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis.”
Cyrus went on to share that she will “always love” her godmother and would “want to make her proud.”
“My heart breaks for the world,” she concluded, “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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Taylor Swift Honors Dolly Parton’s “Dazzling” Legacy After Death
Over the years, Miley and Dolly have shown they can’t stop supporting one another. Miley’s godmother on Hannah Montana and IRL, the “Jolene” musician has collaborated with the 32-year-old several times throughout her career, the duo singing together on 2023’s “Wrecking Ball” and 2017’s “Rainbowland.”
“There’s this unspoken ‘I’ve got your back,’ and anything that would ever happen, I know she could pick up,” Miley told E! News in 2022 of their relationship. “She’s so professional, she’s so on top of it.”
And their bond goes beyond the industry with the Grammy winners recently discovering they are biologically related.
“Is that true? That’s amazing!” Dolly responded in a 2024 Access Hollywood interview after an Ancestry.com test confirmed the connection. “Well, we’re so close, Miley and I, I thought we would have been at least third cousins, 10 times removed.”
According to the site, the duo are seventh cousins, once removed, sharing a mutual great grandfather, John Brickley, from Blunt County, Tenn.
Dolly added that the “Flowers” singer would “get a kick out of” learning this, adding, “But it doesn’t surprise me because she does feel like family.”
And the feeling is mutual. In an interview with W Magazine, Miley shared a letter the “I Will Always Love You” songwriter faxed her that brought her to tears.
“Dolly’s been like a mother to me,” she explained. “Dolly wrote to me to say: ‘How much do I love you? As much as my heart can hold and as far as my arms can reach.’ It gets me choked up. I just love her so much.”
Kevin Winter/ for The Recording Academy
And with their godmother-goddaughter relationship comes a lot of advice, Miley explaining on MyNext Guest Needs No Introduction with DavidLetterman in 2024 that Dolly “isn’t afraid to have tough conversations.”
But the piece of advice that most sticks with Miley is the 79-year-old’s mantra, “You do you, I’ll do me, and together we’ll be us.”
While Miley was like family to Dolly, she had no children of her own, but had an unbreakable bond with her longtime husband Carl Dean, who passed away in March 2025 at age 82.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” the “9 to 5” singer wrote at the time. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
Keep reading for more celebs who’ve paid tribute to the singer…
Katherine Bomboy/NBC via Getty Images
“I have so many moments and memories with Dolly, it’s hard to know where to start,” he explained on Instagram. “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.”
He also recalled a sweet note he received from Parton before her death.
“Dolly recently sent me a beautiful message, telling me she loved me with her whole heart,” Cyrus added. “I will always love her in the same way ….. with my whole heart … and I always will.”
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
“The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share,” Cyrus wrote on Instagram. “Our most sacred moments were private, andthey’lll 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 and be strong. I have an angel by my side,” she continued. “I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis.”
“To imagine a world without @dollyparton is almost unthinkable,” she began on Instagram. “The mark she left on music, our culture, and the human spirit is greater than any of us could ever hope to leave behind.”
“When Mom passed, Dolly showed up for me in a way I’ll never forget,” she continued. “That’s who she was—she showed up. She was family. She was a light in my life and in the lives of millions of people who may never have had the privilege of knowing her personally, but somehow felt like they did. There will never be another Dolly. I will miss my friend more than words can say.”
She ended her tribute with a message to her longtime friend: “From one mountain woman to another, I will always love you.”
“I told her backstage that my three-year-old’s favorite song was ‘Jolene,'” he explained on Instagram, “and she made me FaceTime so she could sing it to him.” “Later she shot a promo for her NBC Christmas special,” he continued, “and when she got on a stool wearing her short skirt she said to the audience, ‘I gotta be careful or else I’m gonna show y’all my box office!'”
The former Saturday Night Live member praised Parton’s joke.
“Too dirty for church, too clean for the bar,” he added. “Just like her, it was just right. What a light.”
She recalled meeting Parton at the Country Music Awards.
“You were not only someone whose smile and presence were larger than life, your heart was even larger,” she continued. “I lift my eyes upward and know that while you’ve left us here, you’re singing amongst the angels, assuredly giving the host of Heaven a run for their money.”
The Dancing With the Stars pro also detailed working with the country singer and fellow dancers Mark Ballas and Cheryl Burke for a performance of “9 to 5” and “Better Get to Livin'” on the dance competition in 2007.
“I was lucky enough to share the stage with her, something I will never take for granted,” he added. “Her music and the way she made people feel will live on forever. Sending love to all she touched. Thank you, Dolly. You will never be forgotten.”
But the “Dark Horse” singer emphasized that Parton had an even bigger heart.
“I had the honor of meeting and singing with her several times. Every time I saw Dolly, she was a pure, sweet (but not saccharine) sassy, cup of joy,” she wrote. “Her way of looking at life with a sense of humor has always been an inspiration to me…”
“If there’s someone you wanna look up to and model your life after, it’s Dolly,” Perry concluded. “Dolly was glam, funny, and kind as fuck. Her star will forever shine bright and I bet you she’s already remodeling them pearly gates with rhinestones.”
She expressed gratitude to the Grammy winner, adding, “Thank you thank you a million times dolly.”
“When I was hired to join KNBC in Los Angeles, I was flown out from my home in Nashville,” he explained on X. “The coach section was overbooked, and I was fortunate to be moved to first class, where my seat mate turned out to be Dolly Parton. Sure was a nice flight. Rest in peace, Miss Dolly.”
“Dolly Parton has transcended time and become one of those iconic artists who is known for just being Dolly, beyond a specific song or moment in time,” he wrote on Instagram. “I was one of the lucky ones whose music she covered.”
“We will miss her and her presence on this earth,” the message continued, “but we will reap all the rewards of her life dedicated to making it a better place.”
He also reflected on a recent visit to Parton’s amusement park Dollywood.
“Our children looked up to her and knew her music,” he added. “The love for Dolly spanned generations. Her work in acknowledging endometriosis before most people knew what it was, and her philanthropic efforts have been inspirational to our family and our foundation.”
“Since then, I’ve had the privilege of not only working with Dolly, but getting to know her,” she continued. “She was exactly who we all hoped she would be—kind, funny, gracious, and one of a kind. Heaven got a whole lot sassier, funnier, and brighter today.”
Pearce—who starred in Dollywood’s Country Crossroads show in the early aughts—shared her committment to Parton’s legacy.
As she put it, “I will do my part as a woman in country music to continue carrying the light she shined so brightly for all of us.”
She concluded her tribute with a message to Parton: “Thank you for everything.”
“This was the first day I met Dolly,” she wrote on Instagram “She was a ray of light! Even then, she was lit up like an angel, a joyful, celestial being. Dolly blessed us all for generations to come. Rest, dear Angel, and, as you said, keep the angels creating music and singing in the heavens.”
“She more than deserves her rest,” she continued, “and now it’s up to us to do our best follow in her brilliant, adorable, one-of-a-kind, bedazzled footsteps so that we still feel that magic in our world.”
Hathaway also shared a message for the country music icon.
“Dolly,” she concluded, “you have always been one of my angels. I will always love you xx”
“Dolly gave us someone to look up to while encouraging us to be who we are as individuals,” she continued. “Somehow she was able to give us her lessons about the world gently and honestly, simultaneously, and oftentimes hilariously. She managed to give the world the ultimate mystery and fantasy in some corners of her life, but to give full transparency in the ways that counted. Somehow she was true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person. She possessed the softest heart when it came to the struggles of others, and a backbone of steel to defend her own self worth as an artist.”
Swift shared that she’s “so grateful” for all of her contributions.
“For the melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest hearts. For the millions of books she provided children all over the world so that they might fall in love with stories the way she did. For the tightropes she walked so that young girls like me could grow up dreaming of joining the circus too,” the songwriter added. “Dolly, I’ll think of you each step of the way.”
She’s espcially grateful they could work on a version of “Jolene” for Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning album Cowboy Carter.
“I’m honored that I had the privilege to work with you,” she continued. “I will treasure that forever. Thank you for your profound impact on the world. You are an angel who has made this world a happier place because of your joyful art. You are truly one of one. Rest peacefully.”
“No one like her. She brought the light, and we are all better because she was here,” Winfrey continued. “God bless you, Dolly—you earned your wings.”
“To her gay and trans fans, I want you to know that she loved you. You know that without me telling you. She loved all her fans and they are legion. And you know she doesn’t want y’all to mourn now. Dress up and celebrate her spirit,” she added. “But first, watch the final episode of Grace and Frankie where she’s an Angel, the head honcho working class angel in Heaven.”
Fonda concluded, “RIP, beautiful woman. We love you.”
“Your love, your music and you gave so much with your huge huge heart. There will never ever be another you,” she added alongside several photos of the two. “We will remember and cherish every memory and every note you ever played and sang. Thank you, Lord, for Dolly.”
McEntire continued, “She’s gonna have a blast in heaven singing all her favorite songs with all her family and friends who have gone on before her. I’ll never forget the first time I met you and I’ll never forget our last conversation. I hold it with love in my heart. I will always love you, Reba.”
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