Destiny Hope Cyrus (born November 23, 1992),[1][2] better known as Miley Cyrus, is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is perhaps best known for starring as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel Original Series, Hannah Montana. As of March 2008, she is in the legal process of changing her given name to "Miley Ray Cyrus".[3][4][5][6][dead link] The next step in her name change process is a public hearing, due May 1, 2008.[7]
Cyrus became an overnight sensation after she was cast in Hannah Montana. Following the success of the show, in October 2006, a soundtrack CD was released in which she sang eight songs from the show. In December 2007, she was ranked #17 in the list of Forbes Top twenty earners under 25 with an annual earning of US$3.5 million.[8] As of December 2007, she is working on a movie spin-off from Hannah Montana, titled The Hannah Montana Movie which is due to be released on May 1, 2009.[9][10]
Early life
Cyrus was born in Franklin, Tennessee,[1] the daughter of Leticia "Tish" (née Finley) and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus,[1] and the granddaughter of the late Ron Cyrus. She has two elder half-brothers, Christopher Cody and Trace, the latter being the vocalist and guitarist of an electronic rock band, Metro Station in California.[11] She also has an older half-sister, Brandi, a younger brother, Braison, and a younger sister, Noah, who is also an actress.[12] She was named Destiny Hope because her parents believed that she would accomplish great things.[1] Cyrus gained her nickname "Miley" because she kept smiling ("Smiley") as a youngster.[1]
Cyrus attended Heritage Middle School,[13][dead link] and now has a private tutor.[14] She grew up on her parents' farm outside of Nashville.[15]

Career

Cyrus plays in concert
Cyrus became interested in acting at age nine when the family briefly lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her first acting role was as a guest star on her father's television series Doc, in which she played a girl named Kylie.[16][2] In 2003, she played "Young Ruthie" in Tim Burton's Big Fish and was credited as Destiny Cyrus. She was also featured in Rhonda Vincent's music video for "If Heartaches Have Wings", and appeared on Colgate Country Showdown with her father, who was hosting the program.
Cyrus was twelve years old when she originally auditioned for Disney for the lead role of Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana, as well as the show's "best friend" roles,[17] but Disney Channel executives judged her to be too small. Cyrus was persistent in her desire to be part of Hannah Montana, however, so Disney called her back for further auditions. According to Disney Channel Executive Vice President Gary Marsh, Cyrus was chosen for the show because of her energetic and lively performance and was seen as a person who "loves every minute of life",[18] with the "everyday relatability of Hilary Duff and the stage presence of Shania Twain".[15] She spent several years to get rid of her Southern accent, but in the end Disney wanted her to revive it. Later in an unusual twist, Cyrus had to audition her own father, Billy Ray Cyrus, to see if he would fit the role as Hannah's dad.[19] Cyrus currently stars in Hannah Montana as the lead character Miley Stewart, whose alter ego is the pop music sensation Hannah Montana. Cyrus also performs in character as Hannah Montana for albums and concerts.
In 2004, Cyrus became a spokesperson for Daisy Rock Guitars, when she was presented with her first Daisy Rock guitar— the Stardust Series Acoustic Electric Pink Sparkle. It was given to her by her parents from her father's Country Music Television fan meet-and-greet when she was twelve years old.[20]
On June 22, 2006, a performance of a Hannah Montana concert (featuring Cyrus as Hannah Montana) at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon in Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida was recorded for the Disney Channel. There were over one thousand people there. Cyrus spent the rest of 2006 opening for The Cheetah Girls on 20 dates of their 39-city tour.[21][dead link] Cyrus also appeared in the Disney Channel Hannah Montana promotion, "Hannah Montana's Backstage Secrets", in which she portrays Hannah Montana in a fictional interview set in the show's canon.
Walt Disney Records released Hannah Montana on October 24, 2006. The soundtrack included eight of the songs that Cyrus performed as Hannah Montana. Cyrus also signed a four-album major record deal with Hollywood Records for her own albums. On December 25, 2006, Cyrus performed as Hannah Montana at the Walt Disney Christmas Parade, singing her version of the holiday classic "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree".
On June 26, 2007, exactly eight months after the release of the first soundtrack, Cyrus released a double album, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. The first disc served as the second Hannah Montana soundtrack, while the second disc was Cyrus's debut album as herself. She wrote, eight of the ten songs and was credited as "Destiny Hope Cyrus". Cyrus had a brief cameo in High School Musical 2 credited as "Girl at Pool", where she danced in front of the pool wearing a yellow baby doll top and denim bermuda shorts. before the end credits.
While attending the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premiere, Cyrus stated that they are working on ideas for a Hannah Montana movie. The feature-length film is to be produced by Cyrus's both on and off-screen dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.[22]
Disney released a Hannah Montana clothing collection in late summer. Cyrus helped to design some of the pieces from the collection. "It's not a costume. A tween girl isn't doing dress-up, they want to look like they could be Hannah Montana's friend. This is a fashion line."[23]
Cyrus performed both as herself and in character as Hannah Montana on a North American Best of Both Worlds Tour that started on October 18, 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri; the tour was extended, due to high demand, until January 31, 2008, with 69 total dates, 14 more than previously planned. The Jonas Brothers were the opening act for most of the tour.[24] Tour tickets for each date sold out in record time after they went on sale, disappointing large numbers of fans.[25][dead link]
In 2007, Miley made a large contribution to the City of Hope (she gave $1 for every HM concert ticket sold) "The cool thing about being a part of City of Hope is that they are a cancer research center. They're not only helping kids that are there, but also finding out how they can heal them by figuring out what exactly is going on, which is amazing."[26]
In 2007, Cyrus guest-starred as Yatta on Disney Channel's The Emperor's New School. In December 2007, she was ranked at #17 in the Forbes Top 20 Earners Under 25, with an annual earning of US$3.5 million.[8]
In 2008, Cyrus was invited to present the song "That's How You Know" from the film Enchanted at the 80th Academy Awards. She is scheduled to host the 2008 CMT Music Awards with her father in April.[27]
On March 20, 2008, a wax figure of Miley Cyrus was unveiled at Madame Tussauds in New York City.[28]
As of April 2008, Cyrus has been recording her third studio album, expected to be released sometime in July.[29]
On April 9, 2008, Miley Cyrus appeared on the TV show, American Idol Gives Back, and she told the audience that it has always been one of her dreams to appear on American Idol.
In April 2008, Parade magazine and usmagazine.com reported that Cyrus earned $18.2 million in 2007.
In April 2008, Cyrus announced plans to write a book about her life and career. The Disney Book Group bought the rights to the book for a reported 7 figures to be published by their imprint Disney-Hyperion Books for a scheduled release spring 2009. An initial printing run of one million copies is planned. [30]
In an April 2008 episode of her web cast show, The Miley and Mandy Show, Cyrus announced she was working on her new album. In April 2008, three songs leaked onto the internet that are believed to be released on the album. The tracks were "Don't Walk Away", "Full Circle", and a Cheyenne Kimball remake, "Four Walls". The songs give hints of country style music. The album is due out between fall and winter of 2008.

Personal life
Cyrus is good friends with fellow Hannah Montana co-stars Emily Osment and Mitchel Musso, often texting and conference calling each other during busy days.[14] Miley Cyrus also taught Emily Osment how to play the guitar and Osment taught Cyrus how to knit. She is also friends with the stars of the highly successful TV movie High School Musical, including Ashley Tisdale,[31] Vanessa Hudgens and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody stars including Brenda Song.[32]In an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, she stated that she looks up to Hilary Duff as her role model.[31]
On January 29, 2008 Miley Cyrus announced her intent to officially change her name to "Miley Ray Cyrus," her middle name reflecting that of her father's.[33][34]
In an interview with USA Today, Cyrus was quoted as saying her faith is "the main thing" and is the reason why she works in Hollywood.[35] When interviewed by Parade, she added that she attends church regularly with her family.[19] In an interview to Christianity Today, Billy Ray said, "Being Christian, we believe in heaven," and "We also had a great church, and when you give up your church, your pastor, and the community you are involved in, you're making a big sacrifice. Let's face it, Hollywood is a completely different environment than Franklin, Tennessee." [36] She also has many pets, including horses, dogs, cats, fish, and chickens.[37]
Beginning in February 2008, Cyrus and her friend Mandy Jiroux (who is also a backup dancer for Cyrus) have been creating videos on YouTube called The Miley and Mandy Show. The show, described as a "YouTube hit", is said to be filmed for fun by Cyrus and Jiroux and to be entirely their work, with Cyrus and Jiroux editing the footage together. It is mostly filmed in Cyrus's bedroom.[38] A particularly popular video was posted on April 13, featuring a dance-off "battle" pitting Cyrus and Jiroux against Jon Chu and Adam Sevani of Step Up 2. The video was choreographed and filmed over the course of two days and it is set to Madonna's song "4 Minutes".[39]

Controversies
On September 24, 2007, rumors began circulating that Cyrus was pregnant.[40] The cause of the rumor was an image of a page of J-14 Magazine circulating on the Internet entitled "Miley's Meltdown" and saying, among other things, "Miley herself confirmed the pregnancy rumors during a J-14 interview".[41] J-14 immediately responded saying that, "Someone doctored the "This Just In" article that appeared on page 16 of J-14's July 2007 issue" and that "this story is completely fabricated!"[42][43] The real story on J-14's Page 16 magazine was about 'Miley's Gross Habits' told by her co-stars on the set of Hannah Montana.
In her movie, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, there is a scene where she and her dad did not put their seatbelts on and, was labeled by some newspapers as a "bad role model".[44] Billy Ray Cyrus later apologized for this, and said
"We got caught up in the moment of filming, and we made a mistake and forgot to buckle our seat belts ... Seat belt safety is extremely important."[45]
On April 25, 2008, the televised entertainment program Entertainment Tonight reported that Cyrus had posed topless for a photo shoot with Vanity Fair.[46] The photo, and subsequently released behind-the-scenes photos, show Cyrus without a top, her bare back exposed but her front covered with a bedsheet. The photo shoot was taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz.[47] The full photograph was published with an accompanying story on The New York Times' website on April 27, 2008. Some parents expressed outrage at the nature of the photograph, which a Disney spokesperson described as "a situation [that] was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."[48]
In response to the internet circulation of the photo and ensuing media attention, Cyrus released a statement of apology on April 27:
“I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be ‘artistic’ and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."[48]
On April 28, Vanity Fair published their full interview and photo shoot with Cyrus and her father Billy Ray Cyrus, as well as the behind-the-scenes photographs, on their website.[49] According to the interview, Cyrus' parents and/or minders were present during the entire duration of the photo shoot. The idea to pose topless was Annie Liebovitz's suggestion. When asked if she were "anxious" about the pose, Cyrus stated to interviewer Bruce Handy:
“No, I mean I had a big blanket on. And I thought, This looks pretty, and really natural. I think it’s really artsy. It wasn’t in a skanky way.… And you can’t say no to Annie. She’s so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look and you’re like, O.K.”[49]

Filmography

Films
Year
Film
Role
Notes
2009
The Hannah Montana Movie
Miley Stewart / Hannah Montana
Main Character
2008
Bolt
Penny
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
Hannah Montana / Herself
One week showing has been extended
2007
High School Musical 2
Girl At Pool
Cameo dancer
2003
Big Fish
Young Ruthie
credited as Destiny Cyrus

Television
Year
Show
Role
Notes
2006-present
Hannah Montana
Miley Stewart / Hannah Montana
Original run since March 24, 2006
Guest appearances
Year
Show
Role
Notes
2008
American Idol
Guest
Comedy introduction from Billy Crystal and musical performance
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Guest
She was together with her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus on the show
Muppets Channel on Disney Xtreme Digital
Celebrity Guest
Brief appearance in online video of Kermit the Frog and Pepe the King Prawn on the red carpet of the 2008 Grammy Awards[50]
2008
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Celebrity Guest
The Gilyeat Family
2007
The Oprah Winfrey Show
Guest
Appeared twice on the show, on November 21[51] and December 20.[31]
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Guest
She was together with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus on the show.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Guest
She was together with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus on the show
The Replacements
Celebrity Star
Voice Actor
The Emperor's New School
Yatta
Voice Actor
2006
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
Hannah Montana
"That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana"
2003
Doc
Kiley
Two episodes

Discography
Main article: Miley Cyrus discography
Albums
2006: Hannah Montana
2007: Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus
2008: Hannah Montana 2: Non-Stop Dance Party
2008: Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
Concerts
2006: Hannah Montana: Live at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon (Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana)
2007: Hannah Montana: Live in London (concert) (Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana)
2007-2008: Best of Both Worlds Tour (Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana / Herself, Opening Acts Jonas Brothers, Aly & AJ, and Everlife)
Mainstream singles
2007: "Ready, Set, Don't Go" (Billy Ray Cyrus featuring Miley Cyrus)
2007: "See You Again"
Other singles
2007: "G.N.O. (Girl's Night Out)"
2007: "I Miss You"
2007: "Start All Over"
2007/2008: "Let's Dance" (Brazil only)

Awards
2008 Winner of Best Performance in a TV Series as a Leading Young Actress for the 29th Anuual Young Artist Awards
2008 Winner of the "Favorite Female Singer" for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
2008 Winner of the "Favorite TV Actress" for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
2007 Winner of the "Favorite TV Actress" for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
2007 Winner of the "Choice TV Actress: Comedy" for the Teen Choice Awards[52][dead link]
2007 Winner of the "Choice Summer Artist" for the Teen Choice Awards[52][dead link]
2006-2007 Winner of the "Best Child Role Model" for the Golden Icon Awards presented by Travolta Family Entertainment[53]