Dolly Parton gobsmacked to discover she’s actually related to goddaughter Miley Cyrus

25 September 2024, 12:40

She has a very, very, very big family.

In fact, Dolly Parton's family and heritage are the subject of her upcoming album, Smoky Mountain DNA – Family, Faith and Fables.

Her fiftieth studio album is set to delve into her long lineage, tracing her family tree all the way back to her Welsh ancestry.

There is also an accompanying four-part docu-series set to air around the same time as the album's release on 15th November 2024.

• Watch Miley Cyrus transform into godmother Dolly Parton for 'Islands in the Stream' duet
• Watch Dolly Parton gorgeously harmonise with her sisters in early TV performance
• The history of Dolly Parton and Carl Dean’s 56-year marriage, and their secret to long-lasting love
• Dolly Parton opens up on making 'Let It Be' with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr: "So gracious"

Dolly has drafted in a whole host of her family members to partake on the album, which features guest spots from the likes of her niece Jada Star.

Fans were wondering if her goddaughter Miley Cyrus would be contributing, given her relation to Dolly, albeit not a blood relation.

Though, that's been proven not to be the case, as Dolly was recently told in an interview with Access Hollywood that she and Miley are in fact distant relatives.

This week, the genealogy company Ancestry revealed that Dolly and her goddaughter are legitimately related by blood.

Finding out whilst promoting her new cookbook Good Lookin' Cookin with her sister Rachel, Dolly was naturally gobsmacked and over the moon.

"Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus are seventh cousins, once removed! Their common ancestor is John Brickey, born in 1740 in Virginia," read the statement from Ancestry.

The company added of their ancestor 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," with Parton and Cyrus both being born and raised in Tennessee themselves.

For Dolly's full reaction to the news of her newest family member, watch below:

Watch Dolly Parton Find Out She's Related To Miley Cyrus (EXCLUSIVE)

"Is that true? That's amazing!" exclaimed the 'Jolene' legend, before remarking lightheartedly: "Well, we're so close, Miley and I. I would've thought we would've been at least third cousins, ten times removed."

I’m sure she'll get a kick out of that," Dolly said of Miley, "but it doesn’t surprise me because she does feel like family."

Despite their celebrity status and busy lives, Dolly has remained incredibly close to Miley throughout her life, offering her guidance and support whenever she needs it most.

In 2009, Dolly told ABC News that the privilege to be asked to be Miley's godmother stemmed from her close friendship with her dad Billy Ray Cyrus.

I've known her since she was a baby. When she was born, [her father] said, ‘You just have to be her godmother,’ and I said, ‘I accept'," she revealed.

"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."

With this latest bloodline bombshell, there's more truth to Miley being one of her own than Dolly perhaps realised!