Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23rd, 1992) is an American actress, song writer and pop singer. She achieved her fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel series, Hannah Montana. Cyrus recorded music for the soundtracks, Hannah Montana (2006), and Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), released by Walt Disney Records. With the success from the Hannah Montana franchise, she soon became a teen idol. In 2007, Cyrus signed to Hollywood Records, to pursue a solo career. She went on the Best of Both Worlds Tour the same year, in which she performed as both herself, and as her character, Hannah Montana. The tour was eventually turned into a DVD called Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008) which earned $70,642,036. In April 2008, Cyrus released her first solo album, Breakout, which was commercially succesful.

She began her career into film by providing the voice of “Penny” in the animated film Bolt (2008). Cyrus earned a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for her performance of Bolt’s theme song, “I Thought I Lost You“. She also brought her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana into film, in Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009). The movie’s soundtrack introduced her to new audiences, within country and adult contemporary markets.

She began to bring out an adult image in 2009, with the release of The Time Of Our Lives, an extended play which presented a more mainstream pop sound, and by filming The Last Song (2010), a coming-of-age drama film. The album included Cyrus’ best-selling single, “Party In The U.S.A“. A studio album titled Can’t Be Tamed was released in 2010, and presents a new dance-pop sound. The music video and lyrics of the album’s lead single “Can’t Be Tamed”, shows off a more sexualized image for the entertainer. Cyrus ranked #13 on Forbes‘ 2010 Celebrity 100.

Miley was born and raised in Tennessee to parents Leticia “Tish” Cyrus, and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Her parents named her Destiny Hope, because they believed that she would accomplish great things in her life. They gave her the nickname “Smiley“, which was later shortened to Miley, because she smiled so much as a baby. Cyrus suffers from a mild heart condition causing tachycardia, but isn’t life-threatening.