Miley Cyrus rose to stardom as the star of the television show "Hannah Montana" and became a successful pop musician.
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Miley Cyrus is the daughter of country music superstar Billy Ray Cyrus. She began acting at an early age, and in 2004, she landed the lead role in the famous show Hannah Montana. Cyrus released a string of successful albums, including Breakout (2008) and Can't Be Tamed (2010), while gaining a reputation for her outlandish antics. Her 2013 single "Wrecking Ball," accompanied by a contentious video, became her first No. 1 success in the United States. In addition to maintaining a radio presence, Cyrus spent two seasons as a coach on The Voice.
Miley Cyrus is the daughter of 1990s country musician Billy Ray Cyrus. She was born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee. (She eventually changed her name to "Miley," a nickname she received as a child because she was always smiling.) Cyrus grew up on the family farm in Nashville, Tennessee, with two siblings and three half-siblings. She began acting at an early age, appearing on her father's television show, Doc, and in Tim Burton's Big Fish (2003).
Cyrus won the starring role of Miley Stewart on the hit Disney show Hannah Montana in 2004 after beating out 1,000 other contenders. The tween series follows a teenage music superstar (Montana) who disguises herself as an ordinary teen in real life (Stewart).
The entire family relocated to Los Angeles, California, for filming, with Billy Ray portraying his daughter's fake father-manager. Cyrus, whose star was rising, released the Hannah Montana soundtrack album in 2006.
The Best of Both Worlds Tour was launched in 2007 due to Cyrus's double album Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. The concert series sold out in record time, prompting a 14-date extension to appease disgruntled fans. In February 2008, her spectacular 3-D concert video grossed $31.3 million during its debut weekend.
Through the decade's conclusion, Cyrus's TV altered persona remained popular. Hannah Montana: The Movie was a box office success, grossing over $79 million since its April 2009 release. With the end of Hannah Montana in early 2011, Cyrus said his final goodbyes to the role.
Breakout, Cyrus' second studio album, was a tremendous breakthrough in 2008, hitting number one on the pop album charts. The following year, she released the EP The Time of Our Lives, which included the hit singles "Party in the USA" and "When I Look at You."
The former became one of the singer's most successful songs, selling over 5.38 million copies and earning a place among the best-selling singles of all time. The young star released a new album, Can't Be Tamed, following that triumph in 2010.
Cyrus shaved her hair short and wore edgy outfits to disassociate herself from her Hannah Montana identity. Still, no one expected her to go as far as she did: Cyrus startled the crowd with her raucous performance of her single "We Can't Stop" at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in August 2013.
She appeared naked in the video for a follow-up single, "Wrecking Ball," around this time. However, the ensuing controversy appeared to boost sales of Cyrus' fourth studio album, Bangerz, which was released in October 2013. Meanwhile, her single "Wrecking Ball" topped the mainstream charts in the United States, earning her Video of the Year accolades at the 2014 VMAs.
Cyrus, named presenter of the 2015 VMAs, wrapped up the event by announcing the release of a new, free album. Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, a break from her pop roots, explores psychedelic themes throughout its 23 tracks.
Some critics praised the artist's willingness to push creative boundaries while maintaining a sense of radio-friendly music panned the album. Younger Now (2017), which featured the lead track "Malibu," was her follow-up album and signified a return to more conservative material.
Cyrus dropped the first chapter of her seventh studio album, the six-track EP She Is Coming, in May 2019, followed by the song "Mother's Daughter" a few weeks later. In August, Cyrus released "Slide Away," followed by "Don't Call Me Angel," collaborating with Ariana Grande and Lana Del Rey from the Charlie's Angels album.
In 2010, Cyrus participated in The Last Song's romantic drama, based on Nicholas Sparks' novel. Her coming-of-age drama LOL (2012) was also aimed at tweens, while her first into acting as a private investigator in So Undercover (2012) was a direct-to-video release in the United States.
In 2015, Cyrus returned to film with roles in two-holiday comedies: The Night Before, starring Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Bill Murray's variety show A Very Murray Christmas. She starred in the Amazon series Crisis in Six Scenes alongside Woody Allen the next year.
No stranger to the small screen, Cyrus reprised her hosting responsibilities as one of two new female coaches on season 11 of The Voice with Alicia Keys. Along with renowned mentors Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, the women competed to find the best talent. Cyrus departed the show at the end of the season but returned in 2017 for Season 13.
Following an uncredited voice appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Cyrus was the focus of attention in the June 2019 season 5 premiere of the TV show Black Mirror. She played Ashley O, a pop singer. As a way of helping the public cope with the coronavirus pandemic, she started the interview show Bright Minded: Live with Miley on Instagram Live the following spring.
In March 2018, it was revealed that Jamaican singer-songwriter Michael May, who goes by the stage name Flourgon, had filed a lawsuit accusing Cyrus of plagiarising his 1988 song "We Run Things" for his 2013 smash "We Can't Stop."
According to the lawsuit, Cyrus "substantially incorporated" his "vocal melody/rhythm/cadence/inflection" and took the lines "Us run things / Things don't run we" from May's "We run things / Things no run we."
Miley Ray Cyrus became Cyrus' legal name in 2008. In the same year, she sparked outrage by appearing in suggestive photos in Vanity Fair magazine, which acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz took. Cyrus apologized to fans after receiving the backlash, though she then tweeted that she wasn't sorry at all, using a four-letter term to emphasize her point.
Miles to Go, Cyrus' autobiography, was released in 2009 and featured previously unseen images, family stories, and "a look at her intimate circle of loved ones." Around this time, Cyrus said of the book in a statement, "I'm really looking forward to sharing with my followers how important my relationship with my family is to me. I aim to encourage moms and daughters to create lifelong memories together and to encourage children all across the world to pursue their ambitions."
Cyrus, who has made headlines for her love life, dating Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers for a short time in 2007. She was romantically related to model Justin Gaston and actor Carter Jenkins among other celebrities.
Cyrus confirmed her engagement to actor and Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth in June 2012, following three years of dating. The couple split up in September 2013, and after rekindling their romance and marrying on December 23, 2018, they split up again in 2020.
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