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Dolly Parton & Miley Cyrus Are Related - Ancestry

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Ancestry Team
23 September 2024

Using the billions of historical records and public family trees available on Ancestry, we discovered that entertainment powerhouse Dolly Parton and her goddaughter Miley Cyrus are actually related!

The two Jolene singers share a common ancestor from Tennessee—Dolly's 6th great-grandfather and Miley's 7th great-grandfather—making them seventh cousins, once removed. John Brickey was born in 1740 in Virginia. 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 progenitor of the family came to the United States in the late 1600s.

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How fitting as Dolly is preparing to launch her aptly titled next album Smoky Mountain DNA!

Perhaps they’ve subconsciously known they were related all along…while Parton played Aunt Dolly on the hit TV show Hannah Montana, Cyrus recently told W Magazine, “Dolly’s been like a mother to me.”

Parton shares the sentiment, telling the London Evening Standard, “Miley became my goddaughter; I was her fairy godmother. We really have a true bond; she is like a daughter to me.”

Musical talent certainly runs in the family. Before the duo’s viral New Year’s Eve performance together to ring in 2023, Miley told TODAY, “There’s a chemistry, and a realness, and a love, and a connection that [Parton] and I have that I really feel.” No wonder Cyrus can do such a great Dolly impression!

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