Photo: Tech. Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby, U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
"Aunt Dolly" is the name Miley Cyrus has used her whole life for her godmother, Dolly Parton — and the name Parton's character carried when she guest-starred on Hannah Montana. The nickname captures what made their relationship different from a typical celebrity mentorship: it was family language, used at kitchen tables long before it was used on stadium stages.
At the Hollywood Bowl in October 2026, weeks after Parton's death, Cyrus held up her photograph and asked the crowd to sing so that "my Aunt Dolly" could hear them.