Miley Cyrus once reflected, “Having an interesting life makes for interesting storytelling.”
This viewpoint is a fitting philosophy for the award-winning superstar singer, songwriter, actress, and philanthropist who first came to fame as a Disney Channel sensation. And, at just 31 years old, Miley is now the youngest honoree ever to be named a Disney Legend.
Born in Franklin, Tennessee, Miley was thrust into stardom early as the daughter of popular country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and goddaughter of music legend Dolly Parton. Miley started her acting career at the age of 8, and by the age of 13, she auditioned for the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana. When Miley first auditioned for the lead role, she was considered too young for the part, but her thousand-watt smile and bigger-than-life singing voice captivated the show’s producers. Miley finally won the part, and Hannah Montana premiered on March 24, 2006, to the largest-ever audience for a Disney Channel Original Series.
In the show, Miley played Miley Stewart, a teenage girl who lived a double life, as she had an alter ego—famous pop singer Hannah Montana. Her real-life father, Billy Ray, played her dad. Hannah Montana was a tremendous success, ranking as the highest-rated series on cable at the time and making Miley a teen idol. The show drew an average of 4.4 million viewers per episode, and a 2007 episode still ranks as the highest-rated basic cable series telecast ever with 10.7 million total viewers. Miley and her Disney Channel hit also generated two double-platinum soundtracks, a No. 1 box office movie, home entertainment releases, a junior novel series, apparel, accessories, video games, and a concert tour that spawned the 3-D film Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2007), which became the No. 1 concert film of all time up to that point.
In 2008, she voiced the character of Penny in Disney’s Bolt. For the animated feature, Miley earned a Golden Globe® Award nomination for Best Original Song (“I Thought I Lost You”). The following year, she took center stage for the lead in Hannah Montana the Movie, which centered on the title character’s trip to her hometown in Tennessee and included the hit song “The Climb.” Also in 2009, she released “Party in the U.S.A.,” her single that was the seventh-best-selling digital single of 2009 in the U.S. It was also certified 13-times platinum—another hit that has become one of her signature songs.
By 2010, Miley ranked No. 13 on Forbes Celebrity 100 list, and in 2013, her album Bangerz produced the song “Wrecking Ball,” which became Miley’s first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, selling over two million copies.
On December 31, 2022, she hosted Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party on NBC, despite COVID-19 pandemic-related challenges in putting on the live program. She once again hosted this New Year’s Eve celebration in 2023, this time co-hosting and performing with music icon and her godmother, Dolly Parton. Just a few weeks later, Miley released the single, “Flowers,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100, spending some 13 weeks on global music charts and was certified 30x platinum. On Spotify, “Flowers” became the fastest song to surpass 100 million and 1 billion plays.
The year 2023 saw the release of Miley’s album, Endless Summer Vacation, which inspired the documentary concert special Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions), released on Disney+. Soon after the release of her album, she became the face of Gucci Flora. At the 66th Annual Grammy® Awards in 2024, Miley was honored with wins for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. 2024 continued new music with collaborations with Beyoncé (“II MOST WANTED”) and Pharrell (“Doctor (Work it Out)”).
In addition to her great popularity and overwhelming success, this young actress and recording artist has sought ways to serve. Miley joined other Disney Channel stars in a benefit concert put on by The Walt Disney Company in 2008, benefiting City of Hope in Los Angeles. In 2014, she founded the Happy Hippie Foundation, a nonprofit to provide support services, education, and employment opportunities to homeless youth, the LGBTQ+ community, and other vulnerable populations, including in 2021, when Miley performed concerts attended by and in support of healthcare workers. Happy Hippie, working with the Los Angeles-based organization My Friend’s Place, provides meals, clothing, and case management to young people experiencing homelessness.
In June 2024, Miley launched the Miley Cyrus Foundation, an extension and expansion of her philanthropic work to date that stems from the relationship she shares with her own grandmother and mother who have served as her biggest inspiration to support and uplift others in her community and around the world.