Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress, song writer and pop singer (born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23rd, 1992). 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 persue a solo career. She went on the Best Of Both World Tour in the same year, in which she performed as both herself and 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, Miley released her first solo album, Breakout, which was commercially successful.
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. For the 2011 Guinness book of world records, she was named the “Most Charted Teenager” following her 29th US Billboard Hot 100 chart entry on November 7, 2009 with Party in the USA.
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.
2001 – 2005: Career Beginnings
In 2001, when Miley was eight, she and her family moved to Toronto, Canada while her father filmed the television series Doc. Cyrus said watching her father film the show inspired her to pursue acting. In her first role, Cyrus played a girl named Kylie on Doc. In 2003, Cyrus was credited under her birth name for her role as “Young Ruthie” in Tim Burton’s Big Fish.
At age 11, Cyrus learned about the casting for what became Hannah Montana, a Disney Channel children’s television series about a school girl with a secret double life as a teen pop star. Cyrus sent in a tape auditioning for the show’s best friend role, but received a call asking her to audition for the lead, “Chloe Stewart“.After sending in a new tape and flying to Hollywood for further auditions, Cyrus was told that she was too young and too small for the part. However, her persistence and ability to sing in addition to act led the show’s producers to invite her back for further auditions. Cyrus eventually received the lead, renamed “Miley Stewart” after herself, at the age of twelve.
For Miley’s music career, Tish followed the advice of Dolly Parton, Cyrus’s godmother and a singer herself, and signed Cyrus with Jason Morey of Morey Management Group. “Dolly said the Moreys are people you can trust around your daughter,” Tish Cyrus recalls, “and she said they have good morals, which is not always the case in this business.” According to trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter, Parton’s advice was “the best advice Tish could have gotten on who should rep her daughter.” Tish also recruited Billy Ray’s business manager to manage her daughter’s finances. Tish herself continues to co-manage or produce many of Cyrus’s career decisions.
2006 – 2007: Hannah Montana and Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus
Hannah Montana became an instant hit and propelled Miley to teen idol status. The series premiered on 26th March 2006, to the largest audience ever for a Disney Channel show and soon became one of the highest rated series on basic cabel – elevating Miley’s wealth and fame along with it.
The first single was The Best of Both Worlds, the theme song to Hannah Montana, which was released on 28th March 2006. Miley’s first release under her own name was a cover of James Baskett’s Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, released on 4th April 2006, on the fourth edition of DisneyMania. Dressed as Hannah Montana, Miley opened for The Cheetah Girls on twenty dates of their The Party’s Just Begun Tour. On 24th October 2006, Walt Disney Records released the first Hannah Montana soundtrack. The album peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
The second season of Hannah Montana premiered on 23rd April 2007 and ran until 12th October 2008. Miley signed a four-album deal with Hollywood Records and, on 26th June 2007, released a double disc album. The first disk was the soundtrack to the second season of Hannah Montana, while the second, titled Meet Miley Cyrus, was Miley’s debut album under her own name. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and was later certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Accociation of America. See You Again, the first single released off the album, was also her first top ten hit on Billboard Hot 100. In fall 2007, Miley launched her first tour, the Best of Both Worlds Tour, to promote the album.
2008 – 2009: Breakout, transitions and film career launch
After the end of the Best Of Both Worlds Tour in January 2008, Walt Disney Pictures released Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, a 3D concert film of the tour, which was only supposed to be a one-week run. The film earned over $31 million at the box-office, twice the expected total, convincing Disney executives to extend the release. The film’s soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records/Hollywood Records on 11th March 2008 and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.
On 22nd July 2008, Miley released her second studio album, Breakout. She said the album was inspired by “what’s been going on in my life in the past year”. Miley co-wrote eight songs on the album. “Songwriting is what I really want to do with my life forever, I just hope this records showcases that, more than anything, I’m a writer”. The album debuted at #1 on the U.S Billboard 200 chart, and the lead single, 7 Things, peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Cyrus provided the voice of Penny in the 2008 computer-animated film Bolt, which was released on 21st November 2008. Miley also co-wrote and recorded the song “I Thought I Lost You” as a duet with John Travolta for the film, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. In September 2009, she took part in the charity single “Just Stand Up!” in support of the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer. She also became involved in Disney’s Friends For Change, an environmentalist group, for which she recorded the charity single “Send It On” along with several other Disney Channel stars.
In March 2009, Miley published Miles To Go. Miley starred as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in Hannah Montana: The Movie, released 10th April 2009. Both the film and soundtrack achieved commercial success. The soundtrack’s lead single, The Climb, became a Top 40 hit in twelve countries and introduced Mile to listeners outside her typical teen pop audience.
Production on The Last Song lasted from 15th June 2009 to 18th August 2009. In between, Miley launched the third Hannah Montana soundtrack, recorded the extended play The Time Of Our Lives and released the EP’s lead single, Party In The USA. The single debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for her best-ever ranking on the chart.The Time of Our Lives was released in conjunction with a clothing line co-designed by Cyrus and Max Azria for Walmart.
From 14th September 2009 to 29th December 2009, Miley went on her Wonder World Tour to promote Breakout and The Time Of Our Lives. On 7th December 2009, Miley performed the Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the British Royal Family at the Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool, England.
2010 – 2011: Can’t Be Tamed, focus on film career and Gypsy Heart Tour
Production on the fourth and final season of Hannah Montana began on 18th January 2010. In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Miley appeared on the charity singles We Are The World: 25 For Haiti and Everybody Hurts. Her third studio album, Can’t Be Tamed, was released on 21st June 2010. The album’s first single is the title track, Can’t Be Tamed. The single was released for sale on 18th May 2010 and entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number eight.
Miley starred in The Last Song, which was released on 31st March 2010. The film grossed more than $88 million at the worldwide box office. The final season of Hannah Montana began airing on Disney Channel on 11th July 2010 and ended on 16th January 2011. Cyrus filmed two more films, LOL: Laughing Out Loud and So Undercover in 2010.
On 29th April 2011, Miley went on her Gypsy Heart Tour in Sourth America and ended the tour on 2nd July 2011, in Australia. Cyrus hosted Saturday Night Live on 5th March 2011. In the same month, father Billy Ray Cyrus confirmed that Miley had been in talks with producer Dr. Luke on a new album. In July 2011, it was announced that she would record her fourth studio albums.
Cyrus released on YouTube a remix of her song “Liberty Walk” in November 2011, dedicated to the Occupy movement, which she referred to as, “the thousands of people who are standing up for what they believe in.”
2012 – present: So Undercover, LOL and focus on music career
On 24th January, the album Chimes Of Freedom: Songs Of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years Of Amnesty International was released in honor of Bob Dylan. Cyrus covered Dylan’s song You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go, in which she also made a music video. Miley’s version of the song earned positive reviews from music critics.
In February, Miley dropped out of animated comedy Hotel Transylvania, to focus on her music career.
Earnings
In 2008, Cyrus earned $25 million, up from her earnings of $18 million in 2007, and was ranked number 35 on Forbes magazine’s Celebrity 100 list. Parade magazine reported that she was richest teenage celebrity and that her franchise would be worth approximately $1 billion by the end of the year. In 2009, Forbes ranked her #29 on the Celebrity 100 and reported she had earned a total of $25 million. Then Cyrus got ranked number thirteen on Forbes‘ 2010 Celebrity 100 ranking $48 million. From the $48 million she made between June 2009 to June 2010 made her the no. 4 highest earners under 30 and the youngest on the list. between June 2010 and June 2011, Cyrus earned $54 million.
From working on Hannah Montana, Cyrus got paid $15,000 per episode she did on the hit show, making her the 6th highest paid child star on television behind fellow Disney stars Dylan and Cole Sprouse and Keke Palmer with $20,000 for their shows. When she was 17 she was named #19 on the “Top 20 World’s Richest Female Singers Of All Time” list with over $100 million in 5 years active throughout her career, which made her the youngest female artist on the list. In 2011, she was named #1 on the “Top 10 Richest Teens in Hollywood” with $120 million.
