Miley Ray Cyrus ( MY-lee SY-rəs, formerly Hemsworth; born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. An influential figure in popular music, Cyrus is known for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She was an established child actress before developing a successful entertainment career as an adult. Cyrus emerged as a teen idol with her portrayal of Miley Stewart in the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana (2006–2011), growing a profitable franchise and achieving two number-one soundtracks on the US Billboard 200.
Cyrus's music career outside of Hannah Montana began with her US number-one albums Meet Miley Cyrus (2007) and Breakout (2008). "Party in the U.S.A.", from her EP The Time of Our Lives (2009), became one of the best-selling singles in the United States. She explored a more provocative image with the dance-pop album Can't Be Tamed (2010) and the trap-infused album Bangerz (2013). The latter's singles "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball" reached numbers two and one on the US Billboard Hot 100 respectively. She explored psychedelic, country, and rock genres on Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (2015), Younger Now (2017), and Plastic Hearts (2020). Her eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation (2023), spawned her second US number-one single "Flowers", which became the best-selling single of 2023 and won two Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year. Her following albums, Something Beautiful (2025) and Bass Persuades (2026), received mixed critical and commercial success.
As an actress and television personality, Cyrus starred in the films Bolt (2008), Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), The Last Song (2010), LOL (2012), and So Undercover (2013). On television, she was the subject of the documentary Miley: The Movement (2013), served as a coach on two seasons of The Voice (2016–2017), and starred in the miniseries Crisis in Six Scenes (2017) and an episode of Black Mirror (2019). She also hosted the holiday special Miley's New Year's Eve Party (2021–2022).
Cyrus has received various accolades, including three Grammy Awards, one Brit Award, five Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, and eight Guinness World Records. She has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was named a Disney Legend, and ranked among the greatest pop stars of the 21st century by Billboard. Cyrus is also the ninth-highest-certified female digital singles artist by the RIAA. She has featured in lists such as the Time 100 (2008 and 2014), Forbes 30 under 30 in the music category, and Forbes Celebrity 100 (2010 and 2015). In 2014, she founded the Happy Hippie Foundation, focusing on the LGBTQ community and youth homelessness.
Early life and career beginnings
Destiny Hope Cyrus was born on November 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee, to Leticia "Tish" Jean Cyrus (née Finley) and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. She was born with supraventricular tachycardia, a condition causing an abnormal resting heart rate. Her birth name, Destiny Hope, expressed her parents' belief that she would accomplish great things. Her parents nicknamed her "Smiley", which they later shortened to "Miley", because she often smiled as an infant. In 2008, she legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus; her middle name honors her grandfather, Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus, who was from Kentucky. Cyrus's godmother was singer-songwriter Dolly Parton.
Against the advice of her father's record company, Cyrus's parents secretly married on December 28, 1993, a year after her birth. They had two more children, son Braison and daughter Noah. From a previous relationship, her mother has two other children, Brandi and Trace. Her father's first child, Christopher Cody, was born in April 1992 and grew up separately with his mother, waitress Kristin Luckey, in South Carolina.
All of Cyrus's maternal siblings are established entertainers. Trace was a vocalist and guitarist for the electronic pop band Metro Station. Noah is an actress and, along with Braison, models, sings, and is a songwriter. Brandi was formerly a musician for the indie rock band Frank + Derol and is a professional DJ. The Cyrus farmhouse is located on 500 acres of land outside Nashville.
Cyrus attended Heritage Elementary School in Williamson County while she and her family lived in Thompson's Station, Tennessee. When she was cast in Hannah Montana, the family moved to Los Angeles and she attended Options for Youth Charter Schools studying with a private tutor on set. Raised as a Christian, she was baptized in a Southern Baptist church before moving to Hollywood in 2005. She attended church regularly while growing up and wore a purity ring. In 2001, when Cyrus was eight, she and her family moved to Toronto, Canada, while her father filmed the television series Doc. After Billy Ray Cyrus took her to see a 2001 Mirvish production of Mamma Mia! at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Miley Cyrus grabbed his arm and told him, "This is what I want to do, daddy. I want to be an actress." She began to take singing and acting lessons at the Armstrong Acting Studio in Toronto.
Cyrus's first acting role was as Kylie in her father's television series Doc. In 2003, she received credit under her birth name for her role as "Young Ruthie" in Tim Burton's Big Fish. During this period, she auditioned with Taylor Lautner for the feature film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. Although she was one of two finalists for the role, she chose to appear in Hannah Montana instead. Her mother took on the role of Miley's manager and worked to acquire a team to build her daughter's career. Cyrus signed with Mitchell Gossett, director of the youth division at Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty. Gossett is often credited with "discovering" Cyrus and played a key role in her auditioning for Hannah Montana. She later signed with Jason Morey of Morey Management Group to handle her music career; Dolly Parton steered her to him. She hired her father's finance manager as part of her team.
2006–2009: Hannah Montana and early musical releases
Cyrus auditioned for the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana when she was thirteen years old. She auditioned for the role of the best friend, Lilly Truscott, but was called to audition for the primary character instead seeing her comical performance. Despite being denied the part at first because she was "too small and too young" for the role, she was later cast as Miley Stewart because of her singing and goofy acting abilities. The series premiered in March 2006 to the largest audience for a Disney Channel program and quickly ranked among the highest-rated series on basic cable. The success of the series led to Cyrus' being labeled a "teen idol". She toured with the Cheetah Girls as Hannah Montana in September 2006 and performed songs from the show's first season. Walt Disney Records released a soundtrack credited to Cyrus's character in October of that year. The record was both a critical and commercial success, topping the Billboard 200 chart in the United States; it went on to sell over three million copies worldwide. With the release of the soundtrack, Cyrus became the first act within the Walt Disney Company to have deals in television, film, consumer products, and music.
Cyrus signed a four-album deal with Hollywood Records to distribute music under her own persona. She released the two-disc album Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus in June 2007. The first disc was credited as the second soundtrack by "Hannah Montana", while the second disc served as Cyrus's debut studio album. The album became her second to reach the top of the Billboard 200, and has sold over three million copies. Months after the release of the project, "See You Again" (2007) was released as the lead single from the album. The song was a commercial success, and has sold over two million copies in the United States since its release. She collaborated with her father on the single "Ready, Set, Don't Go" (2007). Next Cyrus embarked on her highly successful Best of Both Worlds Tour (2007–08) to promote its release. Ticketmaster officials commented that "there [hadn't] been a demand of this level or intensity since The Beatles or Elvis." The tour's success led to the theatrical release of the 3D concert film Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008). While initially intended to be a limited release, the film's success led to a longer run.