Artists: Biography Miley Cyrus  

Miley Cyrus catapulted to major stardom in her role on the Disney Channel's hit TV series, Hannah Montana. The daughter of singer, songwriter and actor Billy Ray Cyrus, she was born in Nashville on Nov. 23, 1992.

On Hannah

Montana, she has the dual role of Miley Stewart (a high school student who tries to fit in with the popular group on campus) and her alter-ego Hannah Montana (an international pop music star).

Billy Ray and wife Tish named their daughter Destiny Hope Cyrus, but the child's cheerful disposition led her father to call her by a nickname, Smiley, which was later shortened to Miley. In January 2008, she had her name legally changed to Miley Ray Cyrus because family and friends already called her Miley. She also wanted her middle name to be the same as her father's.

Miley Cyrus developed a love for the stage after watching her father Billy Ray Cyrus. (She was born just a few months after his debut single, "Achy Breaky Heart," spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's country singles chart.) She worked as an extra on several of her father's TV projects and later earned a recurring role on his popular series, Doc. She also appeared in director Tim Burton's critically-acclaimed film, Big Fish, starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and Helena Bonham Carter. Released in 2003, she is credited as Destiny Cyrus.

Hannah Montana debuted in 2006 and became an immediate hit. On the series, Billy Ray Cyrus portrays her father, Robby Stewart, a successful songwriter who guides her career. As Miley Stewart, her friends on the series are unaware that she sometimes wears a blonde wig to become Hannah Montana.

The Hannah Montana soundtrack, released in 2006, has sold more than 3 million copies. It featured her singing eight songs from the show and five related tracks, including her duet with her father on "I Learned From You." A followup, Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus, has sold more than 2.5 million copies since its release in 2007. The latter is a two-CD set with one disc featuring her as Hannah Montana and the other as Miley Cyrus.

In 2006, Miley Cyrus hit the road to open shows for the Cheetah Girls, another popular Disney act. However, she had easily ascended to headliner status in 2007 when she embarked on her Best of Both Worlds tour. Some 55 dates sold out within minutes, causing an uproar among fans (and their parents) who sought the highly-prized tickets. As a response, Cyrus returned to several major markets in early 2008. A 3-D film of the tour, Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, pulled in $29 million in three days to become the highest-grossing film of Super Bowl weekend in 2008. Her success continued with her first Top 10 single on the country charts in 2008. The single, "Ready, Set, Don't Go," is a collaboration with her father from his album, Home at Last.

Production of the feature film, The Hannah Montana Movie, is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2008 in Los Angeles and Nashville. Billy Ray Cyrus, who will co-star in the project, serves as a co-producer. Miley is also writing material for her forthcoming studio album due later in 2008 on Hollywood Records.

Although the Cyrus family still maintains a home near Nashville, she resides in Los Angeles with her parents, sisters Brandi and Noah and brothers Trace and Braison.