Dolly Parton died on August 25, at the age of 80. Now, her goddaughter Miley Cyrus is speaking out about who she truly was behind her iconic country persona.
Dolly Parton’s death has left fans all over the world mourning, and her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, took to Instagram following her death to share a heartfelt tribute to the woman she has known since birth.
“The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share,” she wrote on Instagram.
“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. I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis.”
She concluded: “I will always love her and want to make her proud. 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.”
Miley Cyrus was Dolly Parton’s goddaughter
Now, during an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Cyrus elaborated on just how much of an inspiration Dolly truly was to her. During the interview, she also addressed how Dolly, despite her highly recognizable appearance, was deeply authentic.
“She’s known for, I guess, 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 everyone gravitates toward – how real she is and how authentic she is,” Miley said.
“There was a time in my life – we hit on it with Hannah [Montana] – so much of my life was about persona. And I think a way that I could look at that as you can have a persona and still be who you are is because of Dolly.”
She then compared it to doing drag, saying: “the way that I present myself is just someone that is so different from the person that feeds the tortoise every morning.
“But again, that person’s inside of me. I just kind of have her off.”
For Cyrus, that contrast was part of what made Dolly so influential in her own life. Behind the hair, makeup and larger-than-life persona was someone Cyrus says remained deeply authentic — and that is the side of Dolly she says she will carry with her.
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