Miley Cyrus

Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress known for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She gained prominent recognition as a teen idol playing Miley Stewart on the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana (2006–2011). The franchise generated two Billboard 200 number-one soundtracks and launched her career as both an actress and a commercial recording artist.

Cyrus was born in Franklin, Tennessee, to Leticia "Tish" Jean Cyrus and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. She was born with supraventricular tachycardia, an abnormal resting heart rate condition. Her parents nicknamed her "Smiley"—later shortened to "Miley"—because she frequently smiled as an infant. She legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus in 2008, honoring her grandfather Ronald Ray Cyrus. After deciding to pursue acting at age eight while living in Toronto, Canada, she took lessons at the Armstrong Acting Studio. She made her screen debut on her father's series Doc and appeared in the film Big Fish (2003) before winning the lead role in Hannah Montana.

Cyrus began her solo music career with the release of Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), which topped the Billboard 200 chart alongside her second Hannah Montana soundtrack. Her follow-up solo album, Breakout (2008), also reached number one. She voiced a lead role in the animated film Bolt (2008), co-writing the Golden Globe-nominated song "I Thought I Lost You." In 2009, Cyrus starred in Hannah Montana: The Movie, which featured the hit single "The Climb." She released the EP The Time of Our Lives later that year, which included the successful single "Party in the U.S.A."

In an effort to transition to a more mature image, Cyrus starred in the film The Last Song (2010) and released the dance-pop album Can't Be Tamed (2010). Following the conclusion of her Disney series, she paused her music career to focus on acting, appearing in the films LOL (2012) and So Undercover (2013), hosting Saturday Night Live, and releasing a collection of live musical performances called the Backyard Sessions on YouTube.

Cyrus transitioned to trap-pop and R&B with her album Bangerz (2013), which spawned the single "We Can't Stop" and her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, "Wrecking Ball." She went on to explore psychedelic, country, and rock styles across her next studio albums: Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (2015), Younger Now (2017), and Plastic Hearts (2020). After joining Columbia Records, she released her eighth album Endless Summer Vacation (2023), featuring her second US number-one single "Flowers," which became the best-selling single of 2023, followed by the visual album Something Beautiful (2025).

Cyrus's other work includes serving as a coach on The Voice (2016–2017), starring in the miniseries Crisis in Six Scenes (2017) and Black Mirror (2019), and hosting Miley's New Year's Eve Party (2021–2022). In 2014, she established the Happy Hippie Foundation to address youth homelessness and LGBTQ issues. Her accolades include three Grammy Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, one Brit Award, three MTV Video Music Awards, eight Guinness World Records, a Disney Legend honor, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.