Miley Cyrus Bio
Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; 23 November 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who first gained international fame as the star of Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana (2006–2011). Transitioning from a child star to a pop artist, she has repeatedly reinvented her sound, exploring pop, country, rock, R&B, and psychedelic styles, and has released landmark albums including Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), Bangerz (2013), and Endless Summer Vacation (2023). Known for high-profile performances and boundary-pushing public personas, Cyrus has earned three Grammy Awards, one Brit Award, five Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, and eight Guinness World Records, while also acting in film and television. In 2014, she founded the Happy Hippie Foundation to support LGBTQ youth and homeless young people.
Early Life and Background
Destiny Hope Cyrus was born on 23 November 1992 in Franklin, Tennessee, to country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and Leticia "Tish" Jean Cyrus. Born with supraventricular tachycardia, a condition causing an abnormal resting heart rate, she was given the nickname "Smiley" by her parents because she often smiled as an infant, and the name was later shortened to "Miley." In 2008, she legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus, with her middle name honoring her grandfather, Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus of Kentucky. Her godmother is the singer-songwriter Dolly Parton, who has remained a close mentor throughout her career.
All of Cyrus’s maternal siblings are established entertainers. Her half-brother Trace Cyrus was a vocalist and guitarist for the electronic pop band Metro Station, while her sister Noah Cyrus is an actress, model, singer, and songwriter. Her half-sister Brandi Cyrus is a professional DJ and former musician for the indie rock band Frank + Derol. The Cyrus family lived on a 500-acre farmhouse outside Nashville, where she attended Heritage Elementary School in Williamson County. Raised as a Christian, she was baptized in a Southern Baptist church before relocating to Hollywood in 2005 to pursue her acting career.
When Cyrus was cast in Hannah Montana, the family moved to Los Angeles, and she attended Options for Youth Charter Schools, studying with a private tutor on set. In 2001, after her father took her to see a Mirvish production of Mamma Mia! at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, she told him, "This is what I want to do, daddy. I want to be an actress." She soon began taking singing and acting lessons at the Armstrong Acting Studio in Toronto, laying the foundation for her entertainment career.
Path to Music
Cyrus’s first acting role was as Kylie in her father’s television series Doc, and in 2003 she received credit under her birth name for her role as Young Ruthie in Tim Burton’s Big Fish. During this period, she also auditioned for The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, but ultimately chose to pursue the lead role in Hannah Montana instead. Her mother, Tish, took on the role of her manager and worked to assemble a team to build her daughter’s career, with talent manager Mitchell Gossett often credited with discovering Cyrus and facilitating her audition for the Disney Channel series.
Following the success of Hannah Montana, Cyrus signed a four-album deal with Hollywood Records to distribute her non-Hannah Montana soundtrack music. The release of the Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus double album in June 2007 marked her debut studio release, with the second disc serving as her first proper record. The project became her second release to top the Billboard 200 chart and helped establish her as a recording artist in her own right, separate from her television persona.
Miley Cyrus Career
Early Career (2001–2007)
Cyrus’s professional career began in 2001 with her small role on the television series Doc, followed by her appearance in the 2003 film Big Fish. After being cast as Miley Stewart on Hannah Montana in 2006, she quickly became a teen idol, with the series premiering to the largest audience for a Disney Channel program at the time. The accompanying Hannah Montana soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 chart and sold over three million copies worldwide, and Cyrus became the first act within the Walt Disney Company to hold deals in television, film, consumer products, and music simultaneously.
In 2007, Cyrus released her debut studio album, Meet Miley Cyrus, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. She then embarked on her highly successful Best of Both Worlds Tour (2007–2008), with Ticketmaster officials commenting that there had not been a demand of this level or intensity since The Beatles or Elvis Presley. The tour’s success led to the theatrical release of the 3D concert film Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008), which was extended beyond its limited run due to popular demand.
Breakthrough (2008–2013)
In 2008, Cyrus released her second studio album, Breakout, which earned the highest first-week sales of her career to that point and became her third release to top the Billboard 200. She also made her film debut starring alongside John Travolta in the animated film Bolt (2008), co-writing the song "I Thought I Lost You" for the soundtrack, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song. Her crossover hit "The Climb" (2009) and the cultural phenomenon "Party in the U.S.A." from the EP The Time of Our Lives (2009) further cemented her commercial success, with the latter becoming one of her signature songs.
In 2013, Cyrus released her fourth studio album, Bangerz, which marked a major stylistic shift toward trap-pop and R&B. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 270,000 copies and featured the hits "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball," with the latter becoming her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single. The accompanying Bangerz Tour (2014) was a critical and commercial success and produced some of the most discussed live performances of the decade. Bangerz was later ranked among the greatest and most influential albums of the 2010s by Billboard and Rolling Stone.
Notable Works and Milestones
Across her career, Cyrus has earned three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Flowers" at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024, along with Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "II Most Wanted" with Beyoncé in 2025. She was named a Disney Legend in 2024, becoming the youngest recipient of the award, and has ranked among the greatest pop stars of the 21st century in multiple Billboard lists.
Miley Cyrus Award Nominations
Throughout her career, Miley Cyrus has accumulated a substantial list of award nominations spanning music, film, and television. She received her first Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song in 2009 at age 16 for "I Thought I Lost You" from Bolt, and earned two additional Golden Globe nominations in the same category in 2025 and 2026. By 2025, she had received nine Grammy Award nominations in total, with six nominations at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards alone for Endless Summer Vacation and "Flowers." She has also received 16 nominations at the World Music Awards in 2014 and 50 Teen Choice Award nominations from 2006 to 2014, making her the most nominated person in the history of the Teen Choice Awards at that time.
Miley Cyrus Awards Won
Cyrus has won three Grammy Awards, one Brit Award, five Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, and eight Guinness World Records. She also received a 2020 Webby Special Achievement Award, an MTV Movie Award for Best Song From A Movie for "The Climb" in 2009, and the Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Song in an Independent Film for "Beautiful That Way" in 2024. In 2024, she was honored as a Disney Legend, and in 2023 she was named Billboard's Comeback Artist of the Year.
Miley Cyrus Family
Miley Cyrus is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus, who married in 1993. Her siblings include half-brother Trace Cyrus, half-sister Brandi Cyrus, brother Braison Cyrus, and sister Noah Cyrus, all of whom are established entertainers in music, acting, or modeling. Her paternal grandfather, Ron Cyrus, was a Democratic politician from Kentucky, and her godmother is the legendary singer-songwriter Dolly Parton.
Personal Life
Cyrus resides in Hidden Hills, California, and also owns a home in her hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. She was married to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth from December 2018 until their divorce was finalized in January 2020, having first become engaged to him in 2012. In 2021, she began dating American musician Maxx Morando, who worked as a producer on her 2023 album Endless Summer Vacation, and the couple became engaged in December 2025. Cyrus has identified as queer and gender fluid, has spoken publicly about being childfree since 2019, and has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights throughout her career.