Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992)[3] is an American actress and recording artist. The daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, she held minor roles in the television series Doc and the film Big Fish in her childhood. In 2006, Cyrus rose to prominence as a teen idolafter being cast in the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana, in which she portrayed the starring character Miley Stewart.
After signing a recording contract with Hollywood Records in 2007, Cyrus released Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus, which served as the series' soundtrack and Cyrus' debut studio album. It was certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments exceeding four million copies, and produced the hit single "See You Again". In 2008, Cyrus released her second album Breakout, which featured the successful track "7 Things", and launched her film career as the voice actress in the animated film Bolt. In 2009, Cyrus starred in the feature film Hannah Montana: The Movie, the soundtrack for which produced the hit single "The Climb".
Cyrus developed a maturing image with her extended play The Time of Our Lives (2009), which featured the successful track "Party in the U.S.A.". The transition continued with her third album Can't Be Tamed (2010); however, it made little commercial impact and became the lowest-selling record of her career. Later that year, Cyrus starred in the coming-of-age film The Last Song. During its production, she was involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with her co-star Liam Hemsworth; the couple ultimately separated after ending their year-long engagement in 2013. Cyrus focused on her acting career with several television and film appearances throughout 2011 and 2012. After leaving Hollywood Records, Cyrus signed a recording contract with RCA Records in 2013. Later that year, she released her fourth album Bangerz, by which point she had become associated with a controversial public image. Its singles "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball" were promoted with provocative music videos. The latter track became her first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Cyrus is recognized as among the most successful artists to originate from The Walt Disney Company. She has five non-consecutive number-one albums on the U.S. Billboard 200, two of which are soundtracks credited to her titular character Hannah Montana, and has earned numerousawards and nominations. In 2010, Cyrus ranked number thirteen on Forbes' Celebrity 100, and was named the "Most Charted Teenager" in the 2011 Guinness World Records with twenty-nine Billboard Hot 100 entries as of November 2009.[4] In 2013, she was recognized as the "Artist of the Year" by MTV.[5]
1992–2005: Early life and career beginnings
Destiny Hope Cyrus was born on November 23, 1992, in Nashville, Tennessee, to Letitia Jean "Tish" (née Finley) and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.[6] Her name was derived from her parents' belief that she would accomplish great things with her life, and was given the nickname "Smiley", later shortened to "Miley", because she often smiled as an infant.[7] Against the advice of her father's record company,[8] Cyrus's parents secretly married a month after Cyrus's birth on December 28, 1992.[9] Tish had two children from a previous relationship: Trace and Brandi. Billy Ray adopted Trace and Brandi when they were young.[10] She has a half-brother, Christopher Cody, Billy Ray's son from a brief relationship, born the same year as Miley; he grew up with his mother in South Carolina.[8] Tish and Billy Ray had two more children, Braison and Noah. Cyrus's godmother is entertainer Dolly Parton.[11] Cyrus was very close to her paternal grandfather,Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus.[12] Cyrus has paid her grandfather several tributes since his death in 2006, including eventually changing her middle name to "Ray". According to Cyrus's father, "A lot of people say Miley changed her name to Miley Ray because of Billy Ray, but that's not true. She did that in honor of my dad, because the two of them just loved each other to pieces."[13]
Cyrus grew up on a 500-acre (2.0 km2) farm in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville,[14] and attended Heritage Elementary School.[15] She was raised Christian and was baptized in aSouthern Baptist church prior to moving to Hollywood in 2005.[16] She attended church regularly while growing up and wore a purity ring.[17] Several of Cyrus's siblings also eventually entered the entertainment business: Trace became a vocalist and guitarist for the electronic pop band Metro Station,[18] Noah became an actress, and Brandi became a guitarist.[19] In 2001, when Cyrus was eight, she and her family moved to Toronto, Canada while her father filmed the television series Doc.[20] Cyrus said watching her father film the show inspired her to pursue acting. After Billy Ray took her to see a 2001 Mirvish production of Mamma Mia! at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Cyrus grabbed his arm and told him, "This is what I want to do, daddy. I want to be an actress."[21] She began taking singing and acting classes at the Armstrong Acting Studio in Toronto.[22] In her first role, Cyrus played a girl named Kylie on Doc.[7] In 2003, Cyrus was credited under her birth name for her role as "Young Ruthie" in Tim Burton's Big Fish.[23] During this time, she also auditioned with Taylor Lautner for the feature film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D and it came down to her and another actress, but Cyrus started doing Hannah Montana instead.[24]
2006: Breakthrough with Hannah Montana
At age 11, Cyrus learned of the casting for what became Hannah Montana, a Disney Channel children's television series about a school girl with a secretdouble life as a teen pop star. Cyrus sent in a tape auditioning for its best friend role, but received a call asking her to audition for the lead, "Chloe Stewart".[25]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.[26][27] However, the series' producers invited her for further auditions in light of her persistence and her singing and acting abilities. The following year, Cyrus received the lead position, renamed "Miley Stewart" after herself.[26] Hannah Montana premiered on March 24, 2006, to the largest audience for a Disney Channel program,[28]and quickly ranked among the highest-rated series on basic cable, elevating Cyrus' wealth and fame.[29] Its instant success helped propel Cyrus to teen idolstatus.[23] Time magazine reports that Cyrus's "phenom[enal]" success is due partially to her talent and partially to "Disney learning to use its vast, multimedia holdings" and market Cyrus and Hannah Montana appropriately.[30] Cyrus eventually became the first artist to have deals in television, film, consumer products, and music within The Walt Disney Company.[31]
As Cyrus' career flourished, Tish Cyrus made several critical decisions regarding her daughter's representation. She signed Cyrus with Mitchell Gossett, director of the youth division at Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty. He is credited with "discovering" her after arranging her auditions for Hannah Montana.[31][32] Per the recommendation of Cyrus' godmother, country singer Dolly Parton, Tish signed Cyrus with Jason Morey of Morey Management Group for her music career because of their "good morals" that are "not always the case in this business". Franke Swertlow of The Hollywood Reporter described Parton's advice as "the best advice [Tish] could [have gotten] on who should rep her daughter."[33] 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.[33] For her education, Cyrus enrolled at Options for Youth Charter Schools[34] and studied with a private tutor on the set of her television show.[35]
The theme song for Hannah Montana, "The Best of Both Worlds", was released on March 28, 2006.[36] The track is credited to "Hannah Montana", the titular pop star that Cyrus portrays. As with other songs credited to Montana, Cyrus typically dressed as the character when performing the song live.[37] It became Cyrus' first charting song, debuting at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100.[38] The song also had success in countries such as the UK and Ireland, where it peaked at number 43 and 17, respectively.[39][40] Dressed as Hannah Montana, Cyrus opened for The Cheetah Girls on twenty dates of their The Party's Just Begun Tour, beginning on September 15, 2006.[41] On October 24, Walt Disney Records released the first Hannah Montana soundtrack. Of the nine tracks on the soundtrack performed by Cyrus, eight were credited to "Hannah Montana" and one, a duet with her father titled "I Learned from You", was credited to Cyrus as herself. Cyrus's first release under her own name had been a cover of James Baskett's "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", released on April 4, 2006, on the fourth edition ofDisneyMania.[42] The soundtrack debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first week sales of 281,000 copies.[43] The album continued to top the chart during its second week,[44]and has sold over 3.7 million copies worldwide.[45] During this time period, Cyrus also released the song "Ready, Set, Don't Go", a collaboration with her father.[46] It became her first Top 40 hit credited as herself, peaking at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100.[47] It also became her first Top 10 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number 4.[48]
2007–08: Meet Miley Cyrus and Breakout
The second season of Hannah Montana premiered on April 23, 2007, and ran until October 12, 2008.[49] Shortly afterwards, Cyrus signed a four-album deal with Disney-owned Hollywood Records.[50] The double-disc record Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus was released on June 26, 2007;[51] the first disc served as the soundtrack to the second season of Hannah Montana, while the second acted as Cyrus' debut studio album. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 326,000 copies.[52] It was later certified triple-platinumby the Recording Industry Association of America.[53] The project spawned Cyrus' debut single as herself, "See You Again", which became her first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[54]It was eventually certified Platinum in the country, making it her first single to be RIAA certified.[55] The track also had success in countries such as Australia and Canada, where it also peaked inside of the Top 10.[56][57] The follow-up single "Start All Over" was released in early 2008; it failed to match the success of its predecessor, debuting and peaking at number 68 on the Hot 100.[58][59] Numerous songs from the Hannah Montana portion of the album charted worldwide following its release.[60][61][62]
During the fall of 2007, the Best of Both Worlds Tour was launched to promote the joint album. With the Jonas Brothers, Aly & AJ, and Everlife as her opening acts, Cyrus toured from October 17, 2007, to January 31, 2008, with stops in the United States and Canada.[63] Tickets sold out in minutes and were scalpedfor up to $2,500 and an average of $214, well above their $26–$65 face value.[64] A Ticketmaster official commented that "there [hadn't] been a demand of this level or intensity since The Beatles or Elvis."[65] Upon the conclusion of the tour in January 2008, Walt Disney Pictures released Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, a 3D concert film of the tour, on February 1, 2008, for what was expected to be a one-week run. The film earned over $31 million[66] at the box office and an average of $42,000 per theater, twice the expected total, convincing Disney executives to extend the release for an indefinite run. "We don't want to turn away kids from the theaters who couldn't get into the concerts," said Chuck Viane, Disney's chief of distribution.[67] The film's soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records on March 11, 2008, and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.[68]
In February 2008, Cyrus and her friend Mandy Jiroux opened a YouTube account and began posting videos of what they called The Miley and Mandy Show. The show, described as a "YouTube hit", was said to be filmed for fun by Cyrus and Jiroux and to be entirely their work, editing the footage together.[69] In May 2008, Gossett, Cyrus's longtime acting agent, left Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty for United Talent Agency, partially with the hope of "giving Cyrus the major-agency backing that would support a widening career".[33][70] In June 2009, Cyrus left both Gossett and UTA, which had recently negotiated her deals for The Last Song and the fourth season of Hannah Montana, and joined the Creative Artists Agency, which had already represented her for music.[71] Cyrus celebrated her sixteenth birthday at Disneyland with a charity fundraiser for Youth Service America, a youth volunteer service organization.[72][73][74]
In April 2008, several provocative images of Cyrus in her underwear and swimsuit were leaked by a teenage hacker who accessed her Gmail account.[75][76][77][78] Cyrus described the images as "silly, inappropriate shots" and stated, "I am going to make mistakes and I am not perfect. I never intended for any of this to happen and I am truly sorry if I have disappointed anyone".[79][80] On April 25, 2008, Entertainment Tonight reported that a fifteen-year-old Cyrus had posed topless for a photoshoot taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair.[81] The New York Times later clarified that though the pictures left an impression that she was bare-breasted, Cyrus was wrapped in a bedsheet and was actually not topless.[82]
In a May 2008 interview with The Los Angeles Times, Francois Navarre, the proprietor of the X17 photo agency, said Cyrus's market value had picked up considerably after the Vanity Fair photo controversy: "She's started to sell more. [...] It used to be $300, and now it's $2,000 for a picture."[83] Estimates for a picture of the then-15-year-old's first kiss ranged from $30,000 to $150,000.[83] Navarre noted that Cyrus rarely behaved in a manner contrary to her wholesome image or went out without a parent and stated, "She has people waiting for the moment she starts to be less traditional. [...] It's natural. Any teenager. But it's going to come very fast. [...] As soon as her mom lets her go out by herself. It's going to start to be interesting."[83] Timemagazine included her on the 2008 Time 100, the magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Her write-up was written by former child star Donny Osmond, who warned, "As an idol to tweens the world over, singer-actress Miley Cyrus, 15, is riding a huge tidal wave at the pinnacle of her career; this is as it should be. I hope she enjoys it. [...] Within three to five years, Miley will have to face adulthood. [...] As she does, she'll want to change her image, and that change will be met with adversity."[84] Billboard ranked Cyrus the fourth best-selling female artist of 2009[85] and the fifth best-selling singer overall.[86] That year, at the age of sixteen, she became the youngest artist to have four number-one albums on the charts.[87]
On July 22, 2008, Cyrus released her second studio album Breakout, which she said was inspired by "what's been going on in my life in the past year."[58] Cyrus co-wrote eight out of twelve songs on the album.[58] "Songwriting is what I really want to do with my life forever, [...] I just hope this record showcases that, more than anything, I'm a writer."[88] Breakout debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 371,000 copies.[89] In doing so, it gave Cyrus her highest first-week sales to date and her third number-one album on the chart. The album went on to receive a Platinum certification from the RIAA, denoting sales of one million copies.[53] Breakout was preceded by the lead single "7 Things", which became her second single to reach the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.[59][90] Its second single "Fly on the Wall" failed to have the same success, peaking at number 84 on the Hot 100.[91] However, it peaked at number 16 in the United Kingdom.[40] Cyrus hosted the 2008 CMT Music Awards with her father in April[92] and the 2008 Teen Choice Awards by herself in August.[93] In 2008, Cyrus provided the voice of Penny in the 2008 computer-animated film Bolt, which was released on November 21, 2008, to critical acclaim.[94] Cyrus 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.[95]
2009–10: The Time of Our Lives and Can't Be Tamed
In 2009, Cyrus starred in the feature film Hannah Montana: The Movie. Both the film and its soundtrack, which contained twelve songs performed by Cyrus,[96] achieved commercial success.[97][98] Its lead single "The Climb" became a Top 40 hit in twelve countries[99] and introduced Cyrus to listeners outside her typical teen pop audience.[100] Cyrus had considered ending Hannah Montana after its third season, which finished production on June 5, 2009,[101] but Disney retained and exercised its option for a fourth season.[102] In September 2009, she participated in the charity single "Just Stand Up!" in support of the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer[103] and in the City of Hope Benefit Concert in support of cancer research and training programs.[104] 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.[105] Shortly afterwards, Cyrus launched the third Hannah Montana soundtrack, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 137,000 copies.[106] This was significantly lower than the first-week sales for her previous albums, and the soundtrack became her first not to receive an RIAA certification. The soundtrack did, however, spawn the single "He Could Be the One", which entered the Top 10 of the Hot 100.[56] In March 2009, Cyrus published Miles to Go, a memoir co-written by Hilary Liftin chronicling her life through age sixteen.[107]
In partnership with Max Azria and Walmart, Cyrus launched her first clothing line in 2009.[108][109] It was promoted with Cyrus' first extended play The Time of Our Lives on August 31, 2009.[110]Cyrus said The Time of Our Lives "is a transitioning album. [...] really to introduce people to what I want my next record to sound like and with time I will be able to do that a little more."[111] The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200, with first week sales of 62,000 copies.[112] The following week, however, the album rose to number 2 on the chart, selling 153,000 copies.[113] Its lead single "Party in the U.S.A." debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her highest-charting single up to that point.[114] To promote the album, Cyrus embarked on the Wonder World Tour, which included over 50 shows in the United States, England and Ireland. The tour was critically and commercially successful, grossing over $67.1 million worldwide.[115] On December 7, 2009, Cyrus performed for Queen Elizabeth II and numerous other members of the British Royal Family at the Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool,North West England.[116]
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Cyrus began transitioning into an adult image in late 2008, when her representatives negotiated a deal for novelist Nicholas Sparks to write the screenplay and novel basis for a film that would serve as a star vehicle for Cyrus by introducing her to audiences older than the young fans she had gained through Hannah Montana.[117] Sparks and co-writer Jeff Van Wie developed The Last Song.[117] It was important to Cyrus that she not be type cast as a singer: "I didn't want to be a singer in another film. I don't want to do that anymore. You have no idea how many musicals show up on my door. I want to do something a little more serious."[118] Production on The Last Song lasted from June 15, 2009, to August 18, 2009.[119] Cyrus starred in The Last Song, which was released on March 31, 2010 and received generally poor reviews, as did Cyrus's performance.[120] Nonetheless, the film was commercially successful, grossing more than $88 million at the worldwide box office.[121] According to box-office analyst Exhibitor Relations, the film marked "a successful transition to adult roles for Miley Cyrus."[122] Before leaving to work on the film, Cyrus ended her nine-month relationship with model Justin Gaston,[123] and began dating her Australian co-star Liam Hemsworth during production.[124] She later called him her "first serious boyfriend".[125] The couple separated shortly after the film's release,[126] though they later reconciled.[127] During this time period, production on the fourth and final season of Hannah Montana began.[128] It began airing on Disney Channel on July 11, 2010, and concluded on January 16, 2011.[129]
During production of these projects, Cyrus began recording her third studio album Can't Be Tamed, and additionally appeared on the charity singles "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti" and "Everybody Hurts" for the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[130][131] The album was released on June 21, 2010,[132] and became her last to be released by Hollywood Records. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200; with first-week sales of 106,000 copies, it became Cyrus' lowest first-week sales and her first studio album not to peak atop the Billboard 200 chart. The album has sold 343,000 copies in the United States to date, failing to receive an RIAA certification.[133] The album was preceded by the lead single, "Can't Be Tamed" on May 18, 2010, and peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.[134] The second and final single "Who Owns My Heart" was released in select European countries.[135][136] In February 2011, Cyrus confirmed she would be embarking on her Gypsy Heart Tour, which featured no North American dates.[137] Cyrus later explained "Right now I just want to go to the places where I am getting the most love and Australia and South America have done that for me."[138] The tour began April 29, 2011 and concluded on July 2 after 21 shows. Cyrus performed on stadiums and at arenas in South and Central America, Philippines and Australia. The outfits and dance routines used by Cyrus while promoting Can't Be Tamed were considerably more provocative than previous performances, arousing media criticism.[139]
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