Miley Ray Cyrus (born November 23, 1992 as
Destiny Hope Cyrus)
is an
American singer,
songwriter, and
actress. Cyrus is best known for starring as the title character in the
Disney Channel series
Hannah Montana. Following the success of
Hannah Montana, in October 2006, a soundtrack CD was released in which she sang eight songs from the show. Cyrus' solo music career began with the release of her debut album,
Meet Miley Cyrus on June 23, 2007, which included her first top ten single "
See You Again". Her second album,
Breakout, was released on July 22, 2008.
Breakout is Cyrus' first album that does not involve the
Hannah Montana franchise. Both albums debuted at #1 on the
Billboard 200.
[Keith Caulfield and Katie Hasty, "Miley Trumps Sugarland To Lead Billboard 200", Billboard.com, 2008-07-31.] In 2008, she appeared in the
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert film.
Cyrus also starred in
Bolt in 2008, and recorded "I Thought I Lost You" for the soundtrack for which she earned a
Golden Globe nomination. She starred in the film spin-off of
Hannah Montana, titled
Hannah Montana: The Movie which was released on April 10, 2009. In 2008, Cyrus was listed in
Time magazine's
100 Most Influential People in The World.
[The 2008 TIME 100, Time.] Forbes magazine ranked her #35 on the "
Celebrity 100" list with earnings of $25 million in 2008.
[2008 The Celebrity 100(Rank:29 Name:Miley Cyrus Pay ($mil):25 Web Rank:11 Press Rank:49 TV Rank:19)(06.11.08, 6:00 PM ET)- Forbes.com.] Her rank improved to #29 in 2009.
[2009 The Celebrity 100]
Early life
Cyrus was born in
Nashville, Tennessee on November 23, 1992
[Los Angeles Superior Court documents of name change. PDF (p. 4)] to Leticia "Tish" (
née Finley) and
country singer
Billy Ray Cyrus.
Cyrus has five siblings. Her elder siblings
Trace and Brandi Cyrus are Tish's children from a previous relationship, whom Billy Ray adopted when they were very young.
Trace is a vocalist and guitarist for the electronic
rock band
Metro Station,
while Brandi has played guitar for Cyrus' concerts and formed a band with
The Secret Life of the American Teenager star
Megan Park.
Cyrus also has an older half-brother, Christopher Cody, from her father's previous relationship,
as well as a younger brother, Braison, and a younger sister,
Noah, who is also an actress.
She is the granddaughter of
Democratic politician
Ron Cyrus. Cyrus chose the name "Ronnie" for her character in the 2010 film
The Last Song in honor of her grandfather.
