Dolly Parton Learns She’s Related To Goddaughter Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus has spent her life — both on Hannah Montana and offscreen — calling Dolly Parton “Aunt Dolly,” after her parents named the country singer as her godmother. However, it turns out they’re actually related. Parton learned that she and Miley Cyrus were distant cousins during a Sept. 24 interview on Access Hollywood.

“Is that true? That’s amazing!” she said. “I’m sure she’ll get a kick out of that, but it doesn’t surprise me because she does feel like family.”

According to the family tree tracking site Ancestry, the two share a common ancestor, John Brickey, who was born in 1740 in Virginia and then moved with his family to Tennessee, their home estate. He is Parton’s sixth great-grandfather and Cyrus’ seventh great-grandfather, making them seventh cousins, once removed.

“We’re so close, Miley and I, I’d have thought we’d have been at least third cousins,” Parton said.