Miley Cyrus spoke about her last conversation with Dolly Parton.
Their final call centred on Cyrus’s new music and Parton’s advice on performance, style and grief.
Cyrus said Parton was both her real-life godmother and “Aunt Dolly” on Hannah Montana.
American singer, songwriter, and actress Miley Cyrus has shared details of her final conversation with her godmother Dolly Parton and called the country music icon someone who "was always right." In an interview with Zane Lowe, Cyrus spoke about their last exchange and the bond that shaped her life and work.
Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton relationship
Parton was Cyrus's godmother in real life and starred as "Aunt Dolly" on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana. Cyrus described a relationship that stayed close and deeply personal until the end of Parton's life.
The singer also returned to their final call, her own music and the advice Parton gave her on performance, style and grief. She spoke about what it means to lose someone she turned to for guidance.
About Miley's last conversation with Parton
Their last talk centred on Cyrus's new music. "The time that we talked, which was the last time we would talk, it was actually me telling her about this record," Cyrus said.
"She’s known for the faux, the fake, the hair, the makeup, the show of it, but there’s a part of her that’s just what I think what everyone gravitates towards is how real she is and how authentic she is," the singer added.
The Grammy Award winner also said, "Even though we are so different, that’s what made us so perfect for each other." Cyrus added that she had followed Parton's example by keeping her art separate from her personal life.
Parton's advice extended to the stage. "I always cry. I can’t help it," Cyrus said. "She [Parton] was like, ‘Music is escapism. Let them cry. You need to get through it.’ And I said, ‘I know, but this is who I am.’ And she loved me for it."
Performance and legacy
The Flowers crooner said she could not hold back tears when she sang I Will Always Love You with Parton at Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party in 2023.
"I think she knew at that time that the reason I was crying is the reason that I cry now," she said. "Not just Dolly, which is a unique, that’s family, but so many of my really stabilising peers that I have in my life, they’re generations before me and they’ve laid down brick by brick the road that I travel now."
She said the loss also carries a wider sense of change. "And they aren’t always going to be here for me to call them and say, ‘What do I do now?,’ which I always did with Dolly," she added.
Parton had told her to choose Bob Mackie for the Flowers Grammy performance. "She was always right, and when you’re a kid you’re like ‘What does she know?’ And then as you get older you’re like, ‘Everything,’" she said.
Cyrus said she still plans to send Parton a vinyl copy of her upcoming 10th studio album Bass Persuades.
"Dolly has been the first person when I get a vinyl printed, that’s the first person I send it to since I’ve been making vinyls," she said, holding back tears. "This time around I’m going to send her a vinyl because I always do."
Parton died at the age of 80 on August 25, 2026, after a brief battle with cancer.
