Dolly Parton Learns She's Actually Related to Goddaughter Miley Cyrus: 'Is That True? That's Amazing!'
Ancestry revealed the news to the country superstar during a recent interview with 'Access Hollywood'
The Cyrus family tree branches out further than anyone knew!
This week, Ancestry revealed Dolly Parton and her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, are actually related by blood. The country icon found out the news during an interview with Access Hollywood — and she was delighted!
"Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus are seventh cousins, once removed! Their common ancestor is John Brickey, born in 1740 in Virginia," reads a statement from Ancestry.
Related: Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton's Cutest Moments Together
The company added of Brickey, "He later moved to Blount County, Tennessee with his wife and children and remained there until his death in 1806. The Brickey family originated from France and the family came to the United States in the late 1600s." [Both Parton and Cyrus are from Tennessee.]
Parton, 78, was promoting her new cookbook, Good Lookin' Cookin, co-authored by her sister, Rachel, on Access Hollywood when she was presented with the information.
"Is that true? That's amazing!" exclaimed the "Jolene" musician, before joking about the distant relation: "Well, we're so close, Miley and I. I would've thought we would've been at least third cousins, 10 times removed."
She continued of Cyrus, 31, "I’m sure she'll get a kick out of that, but it doesn’t surprise me because she does feel like family."
The "I Will Always Love You" singer-songwriter's status as Cyrus' godmother stems from her close relationship with the former Hannah Montana star's father, Billy Ray. "I've known her since she was a baby," said Parton in a 2009 interview with ABC News.
"When she was born, [her father] said, ‘You just have to be her godmother,’ and I said, ‘I accept,'" she recalled at the time. "We never did do a big ceremony, but I’m so proud of her, love her. And she’s just like one of my own."
The godmother-goddaughter duo have maintained a tight-knit relationship over the years. During a June appearance on Netflix's My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, Miley revealed Parton was part of the reason her show-stopping performance of "Flowers" at the 2024 Grammy Awards even happened.
"A tough conversation I had with her: I told her, ‘I’m wondering if I’m going to do the Grammys or not.’ And she said, ‘Well of course you’re going to do the Grammys, and you’re not just going to show up but you’re going to show off. And you’re going to be everything that you are sitting right here in front of me,'" she reflected.
"And she said, 'And don’t forget about the beauty. The hair, the makeup, the whole show. It’s armor for us,'" added Miley. "She's always said this to me: 'You do you, and I’ll do me, and together we’ll be us.’ So she wasn’t telling me to be Dolly, she wasn’t telling me to be fabulous and hide behind the sparkles and the hair. She was telling me to be me."
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