Celebrity Celebrity Family 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' By Jack Irvin Jack Irvin Jack Irvin has over five years of experience working in digital journalism, and he’s worked at PEOPLE since 2022. Jack started in the industry with internships at Rolling Stone and Entertainment Tonight, and he worked as a freelance writer for publications including Bustle, MTV News, Shondaland, L’Officiel USA, Ladygunn, Flood and PopCrush before joining PEOPLE. In his current role, Jack covers daily music news and has interviewed both up-and-coming and established artists including Dolly Parton, Michelle Branch, Ashanti, Cyndi Lauper, Normani, Carly Rae Jepsen and Coco Jones. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 24, 2024 04:50PM EDT 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. Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton's Cutest Moments Together Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton in Los Angeles in February 2019. Kevin Mazur/Getty 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." Dolly Parton Reveals What She Thinks About Beyoncé Not Scoring Any CMA Award Nominations with Cowboy Carter Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus in Los Angeles in February 2019. Kevin Winter/Getty 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." Dolly Parton Learned to Cook 'Out of Necessity' at Home with 11 Siblings: 'We Wanted to Be Together' (Exclusive) Miley Cyrus performs in Los Angeles in February 2024. Kevin Winter/Getty 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." Close