Miley Cyrus’ final conversation with Dolly Parton was about music, transformation and the difference between a public persona and the person underneath it. Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the singer described how she told her godmother just how deeply Parton had influenced her before the country legend died in August.
What did Miley tell Dolly Parton?
Miley said their final discussion centred on her latest record, despite the two performers having very different styles.
“The time that we talked, which was the last time we would talk, it was actually me telling her about this record,” she said. Their differences, Miley explained, were precisely why the relationship worked so well.
She credited Parton with showing her that theatrical presentation and honesty do not have to cancel each other out. The wigs, makeup and spectacle were part of the package, but so was the sincerity audiences connected with.
“She’s known for, I guess, the faux, the fake, the hair, the makeup, the show of it,” Miley said. “But there’s a part of her that’s just what I think everyone gravitates toward, how real she is and how authentic she is.”
That lesson had particular relevance for Miley, whose career began with the split identity at the centre of Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana. Fame has rarely encouraged anyone to keep things simple.
How did Parton shape Miley’s public identity?
Miley said Parton helped her understand that adopting a stage persona does not make an artist dishonest. A performer can build a dramatic image while remaining recognisably themselves behind it.
“Sometimes I call what I do drag because the way that I present myself is just someone that is so different from the person that feeds the tortoise every morning,” she said. “But again, that person’s inside of me. I just kind of have her off.”
Parton, known worldwide for songs including “Jolene” and “9 to 5,” had spent decades balancing glamour, humour and personal candour. Her towering hair may have arrived first, but the emotional directness was never far behind.
The country star became Miley’s godmother after developing a close friendship with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus. Parton and Billy Ray toured together in 1992, years before Miley became a child star and later built her own career beyond the Disney franchise.
Miley also recently dropped Cyrus from her professional name and now performs under the mononym Miley.
How did Miley respond to Parton’s death?
Parton died on 25 August at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center following what her publicist, Marcel Pariseau, described as a “brief battle with cancer.” She was 80 and surrounded by loved ones, according to the announcement.
After her death, Miley shared a tribute on Instagram but said the pair’s most personal memories would remain private.
“The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share,” she wrote. “Our most sacred moments were private and they’ll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts.”
She added that Parton would have wanted her to process the loss through music and then continue working. One of their final conversations, she said, had been about “music and metamorphosis.”
“I will always love her and want to make her proud,” Miley wrote. “My heart breaks for the world, 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.”
For Miley, Parton’s influence was not limited to songs or stagecraft. It was the example of how to construct a larger-than-life image without allowing it to replace the person inside it.
