Miley Ray Cyrus[1] (born
Destiny Hope Cyrus on
November 23,
1992)
[2][3], is an
American actress,
singer and
songwriter. She is known for starring as
Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the
Disney Channel Original Series,
Hannah Montana.
Cyrus became an overnight sensation after she was cast in
Hannah Montana. Following the success of the show, in October 2006, a soundtrack CD was released in which she sang eight songs from the show. In December 2007, she was ranked #17 in the list of Forbes Top twenty earners under 25 with an annual earning of US$3.5 million.
[4] As of December 2007, she is working on a movie spin-off from
Hannah Montana, titled
The Hannah Montana Movie which is due to be released on
May 1,
2009.
[5][6] //
Early life
Cyrus was born in
Franklin,
Tennessee,
[2] the daughter of Leticia "Tish" (
née Finley) and
country singer
Billy Ray Cyrus,
[2] and the granddaughter of the late
Ron Cyrus. She has two older half-brothers — Christopher Cody and Trace, the latter being the vocalist and guitarist of an electronic
rock band,
Metro Station in California.
[7] She also has an older half-sister, Brandi, a younger brother, Braison, and a younger sister, Noah, who is also an actress.
[8] She was named Destiny Hope because her parents believed that she would accomplish great things.
[2] Cyrus gained her nickname "Miley" because she kept smiling ("Smiley") as a youngster.
[2]Cyrus attended Heritage Middle School,
[9][
dead link] and now has a private tutor.
[10] She grew up on her parents' farm outside of Nashville.
[11]Acting career
Cyrus became interested in acting at age nine when the family briefly lived in
Toronto,
Ontario,
Canada. Her first acting role was as a guest star on her father's television series
Doc, in which she played a girl named Kylie.
[12][3] In
2003, she played "Young Ruthie" in
Tim Burton's
Big Fish and was credited as Destiny Cyrus. She was also featured in
Rhonda Vincent's music video for "If Heartaches Have Wings", and appeared on
Colgate Country Showdown with her father, who was hosting the program.
Disney Career
Cyrus was twelve years old when she originally auditioned for Disney for the lead role of
Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana, as well as the show's "best friend" roles,
[13] but Disney Channel executives judged her to be too small. Cyrus was persistent in her desire to be part of
Hannah Montana, however, so Disney called her back for further auditions. According to Disney Channel Executive Vice President
Gary Marsh, Cyrus was chosen for the show because of her energetic and lively performance and was seen as a person who "loves every minute of life",
[14] with the "everyday relatability of
Hilary Duff and the stage presence of
Shania Twain".
[11] She spent several years to get rid of her Southern accent, but in the end Disney wanted her to revive it. Later in an unusual twist, Cyrus had to audition her own father,
Billy Ray Cyrus, to see if he would fit the role as Hannah's dad.
[15] Cyrus currently stars in
Hannah Montana as the lead character
Miley Stewart, whose
alter ego is the
pop music sensation Hannah Montana. Cyrus also performs in character as Hannah Montana for albums and concerts. Cyrus also appeared in the Disney Channel
Hannah Montana promotion, "Hannah Montana's Backstage Secrets", in which she portrays Hannah Montana in a fictional interview set in the show's
canon.
Cyrus had a brief cameo in the 2007
television movie High School Musical 2 credited as "Girl at Pool", where she danced before the end credits in front of the pool wearing a yellow baby doll top and denim Bermuda shorts. Cyrus also guest-starred as Yatta on Disney Channel's
The Emperor's New School.
While attending the
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premiere, Cyrus stated that they are working on ideas for a Hannah Montana movie. The feature-length film is to be produced by Cyrus's both on and off-screen dad,
Billy Ray Cyrus.
[16] The Hannah Montana Movie is scheduled for a
May 1,
2009 release.
[17]Cyrus was invited to present the song "That's How You Know" from the film
Enchanted at the
80th Academy Awards. She also hosted the 2008
CMT Music Awards with her father in April.
[18] On
April 9,
2008, Miley Cyrus appeared on the
American Idol fundraiser show
Idol Gives Back, and she told the audience that it has always been one of her dreams to appear on
American Idol.
Music career
Studio albums
Walt Disney Records released Cyrus's first album,
Hannah Montana, on
October 24,
2006. The soundtrack included eight of the songs that Cyrus performed as Hannah Montana. Cyrus also signed a four-album major record deal with
Hollywood Records for her own albums. The album was later re-released twice - a Holiday Edition featuring Cyrus's cover of "
Rockin' around the Christmas Tree" and a Special Edition featuring "
Nobody's Perfect". Cyrus also opened for
The Cheetah Girls in 2006, performing on 20 dates of their 39-city tour.
[19]On
June 26,
2007, exactly eight months after the release of the first soundtrack, Cyrus released a double album,
Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. The first disc served as the second
Hannah Montana soundtrack, while the second disc was Cyrus's debut album as herself. She wrote eight of the ten songs, credited by her birth name Destiny Hope Cyrus.
As of
April 2008, Cyrus has been recording her second studio album.
[20] In an episode of her web cast show,
The Miley and Mandy Show, Cyrus announced she was working on her new album titled
Breakout . Cyrus also performed two new songs, "Fly on the Wall" and "Breakout" at the 2008 Disney Channel Games concert.
Breakout is expected to be released on
July 22,
2008.
[21]Touring
Cyrus performed both as herself and in character as
Hannah Montana on a North American
Best of Both Worlds Tour that started on
October 18,
2007 in
St. Louis, Missouri; the tour was extended, due to high demand, until
January 31,
2008, with 69 total dates, 14 more than previously planned. The
Jonas Brothers were the opening act for most of the tour.
[22] Tour tickets for each date sold out in record time after they went on sale, disappointing large numbers of fans.
[23] The tour was recorded and released to cinemas in
Disney Digital 3-D. The
concert film brought in $8,651,758 on its opening day, and continued on to gross $31,117,834 to finish off the weekend, making it the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film to be released under 1000 screens.
[24] Though its initial run in theaters was due to last just a week, Disney extended the film's run indefinitely because of the demand.
[25]Entrepreneurship
Cyrus became a spokesperson for
Daisy Rock Guitars in 2004, when she was presented with her first
Daisy Rock guitar - the Stardust Series Acoustic Electric Pink Sparkle. It was given to her by her parents from her father's
Country Music Television fan meet-and-greet when she was twelve years old.
[26]Disney released a
Hannah Montana clothing collection in late summer 2007. Cyrus helped to design some of the pieces from the collection. "It's not a costume. A tween girl isn't doing dress-up, they want to look like they could be Hannah Montana's friend. This is a fashion line."
[27]In April 2008, Cyrus announced plans to write a book about her life and career. The Disney Book Group bought the rights to the book for a reported 7 figures to be published by their imprint Disney-Hyperion Books for a scheduled release spring 2009. An initial printing run of one million copies is planned.
[28]In December 2007, she was ranked #17 in the list of Forbes Top twenty earners under 25 with an annual earning of US$3.5 million.
[4] In April 2008,
Parade and
Us Weekly reported that Cyrus earned $18.2 million in 2007. A wax figure of Miley Cyrus was unveiled at
Madame Tussauds in New York City.
[29]Personal life
Cyrus is good friends with fellow
Hannah Montana co-stars
Emily Osment and
Mitchel Musso, often
texting and
conference calling each other during busy days.
[10] Miley Cyrus also taught Emily Osment how to play the guitar and Osment taught Cyrus how to knit. She is also friends with the stars of the highly successful
TV movie High School Musical, including
Ashley Tisdale,
[30] Vanessa Hudgens and
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody stars including
Brenda Song.
[31]In an appearance on
The Oprah Winfrey Show, she stated that she looks up to
Hilary Duff as her role model.
[30]Name change
On
January 29,
2008 Miley Cyrus announced her intent to officially change her name to "Miley Ray Cyrus," her middle name reflecting that of her father's.
[32][33]The name change became official
May 1,
2008.
[1]Christian beliefs
In an interview with
USA Today, Cyrus was quoted as saying her faith is "the main thing" and is the reason why she works in Hollywood.
[34] When interviewed by
Parade, she added that she attends church regularly with her family.
[15] In an interview to
Christianity Today, Billy Ray said, "Being Christian, we believe in heaven," and "We also had a great church, and when you give up your church, your pastor, and the community you are involved in, you're making a big sacrifice. Let's face it, Hollywood is a completely different environment than Franklin, Tennessee."
[35] She also has many pets, including horses, dogs, cats, fish, and chickens.
[36]Philanthropy
In 2007, Cyrus made a large contribution to the City of Hope (she gave $1 for every HM concert ticket sold) "The cool thing about being a part of City of Hope is that they are a cancer research center. They're not only helping kids that are there, but also finding out how they can heal them by figuring out what exactly is going on, which is amazing."
[37]Online media
Beginning in February 2008, Cyrus and her friend Mandy Jiroux (who is also a backup dancer for Cyrus) have been creating videos on
YouTube called
The Miley and Mandy Show. The show, described as a "YouTube hit", is said to be filmed for fun by Cyrus and Jiroux and to be entirely their work, with Cyrus and Jiroux editing the footage together. It is mostly filmed in Cyrus's bedroom.
[38] A particularly popular video was posted on
April 13, featuring a dance-off "battle" pitting Cyrus and Jiroux against Jon Chu and Adam Sevani of
Step Up 2. The video was choreographed and filmed over the course of two days and it is set to
Madonna's song "
4 Minutes".
[39]Controversies
Pregnancy Hoax
On
September 24,
2007, rumors began circulating that Cyrus was pregnant.
[40] The cause of the rumor was an image of a page of
J-14 Magazine circulating on the Internet entitled "Miley's Meltdown" and saying, among other things, "Miley herself confirmed the pregnancy rumors during a J-14 interview".
[41] J-14 immediately responded saying that, "Someone doctored the
"This Just In" article that appeared on page 16 of J-14's July 2007 issue" and that "this story is completely fabricated!"
[42][43] The real story on J-14's Page 16 magazine was about 'Miley's Gross Habits' told by her co-stars on the set of Hannah Montana.
Seat Belts
In her movie,
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, there is a scene where she and her dad did not put their
seatbelts on and, was labeled by some newspapers as a "bad role model".
[44] Billy Ray Cyrus later apologized for this, and said
"We got caught up in the moment of filming, and we made a mistake and forgot to buckle our seat belts ... Seat belt safety is extremely important."[45]
Vanity Fair Photos
On
April 25,
2008, the televised entertainment program
Entertainment Tonight reported that Cyrus had posed topless for a photo shoot with
Vanity Fair.
[46] The photo, and subsequently released behind-the-scenes photos, show Cyrus with her bare back exposed but her front covered with a bedsheet. The photo shoot was taken by photographer
Annie Leibovitz.
[47] The full photograph was published with an accompanying story on
The New York Times' website on
April 27,
2008. On
April 29,
2008,
The New York Times clarified that though the pictures left an impression that she was bare-breasted, Cyrus was wrapped in a bedsheet and was actually not topless.
[48] Some parents expressed outrage at the nature of the photograph, which a
Disney spokesperson described as "a situation [that] was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."
[48]In response to the internet circulation of the photo and ensuing media attention, Cyrus released a statement of apology on
April 27:
"I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be ‘artistic’ and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."[48]
The photographer
Annie Leibovitz also released a statement:
"I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful.[2]"[48]
On
April 28,
2008,
Vanity Fair published their full interview and photo shoot with Cyrus and her father
Billy Ray Cyrus, as well as the behind-the-scenes photographs, on their website.
[49] According to the interview, Cyrus' parents and/or minders were present during the entire duration of the photo shoot. The idea to pose with the sheets on was suggested by
Annie Liebovitz. When asked if she were "anxious" about the pose, Cyrus stated to interviewer Bruce Handy:
“No, I mean I had a big blanket on. And I thought, This looks pretty, and really natural. I think it’s really artsy. It wasn’t in a skanky way.… And you can’t say no to Annie. She’s so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look and you’re like, okay.”[49]
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Soundtracks
Other albums
Tours
Mainstream singles
Other singles
Awards
References
- ^ a b Miley Turns Her Back On Destiny. E! Online (2008-05-01). Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
- ^ a b c d e David Hiltbrand. "Miley Cyrus braced for Disney stardom", The San Diego Union-Tribune, 2006-05-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-01.
- ^ a b Miley Cyrus biography. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
- ^ a b Forbes Magazine Top 20 Under 25. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
- ^ Pamela McClintock. "Disney unveils 2009 schedule", Variety.com, 2008-02-20. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
- ^ "States fight for Hannah Montana movie", CNN, 2007-11-23. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
- ^ Miller, Gerri (July, 2007). POP-Corn - Miley Rocks. Scholastic News Online. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ "Billy Ray Cyrus - Bio" (English). cmt.ca. Retrieved on 2006-10-29. “Children: Destiny Hope, Braison Chance, Noah Lindsey, with Tish; Christopher Cody, from a previous relationship; and stepchildren Brandi, and Trace.”
- ^ Ken Beck. "Teen Miley Cyrus leaves Tennessee hills for Hollywood with dad Billy Ray and family in tow", The Tennessean, 2006-03-19. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
- ^ a b Jacques Steinberg. "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: A Tale of Two Tweens", The New York Times, 2006-04-20. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
- ^ a b Associated Press. "Life Imitates Art for Teen Miley Cyrus", MSN TV News, 2006-05-25. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
- ^ David Hiltbrand (2006-05-20). Miley Cyrus braced for Disney stardom. San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
- ^ "'Hannah Montana' Livin' the Rock Star Life! DVD Review" (English). Disney DVD Reviews (2006-10-20). Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
- ^ Oldenburg, Ann. USA Today. March 23, 2006. "Lifelong work pays off, says Miley Cyrus, 13." Retrieved on October 1 2006.
- ^ a b In step with ... Miley Cyrus Parade.com
- ^ 'Hannah Montana' Film In Development
- ^ Disney unveils 2009 schedule - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety
- ^ "Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus to Host CMT Music Awards" at CMT.com. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
- ^ Craig Rosen (Reuters, Hollywood Reporter). "Disney's Cheetah Girls keep girl power alive", Washington Post, 2006-09-25. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
- ^ Miley Spending Summer in Montana. E! News (2008-03-28).
- ^ a b Michelle Tan (2008-05-03). Confirmation of Breakout. people.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
- ^ Walt Disney Records & Hollywood Records (2007). The Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus ``Best of Both Worlds Tour Confirms 14 New Dates to Sold-Out Nationwide Tour. Business Wire 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
- ^ Westbrook, Bruce (September 17, 2007). How much would you pay for Hannah Montana tickets?. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-09-17. “... every show in every city, no matter how small, has sold out in minutes.”
- ^ Movies With the Fewest Theaters to Debut at #1 at the Box Office. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ Scott Bowles (February 3, 2008). Hannah Montana concert film earns extended theater stay. USA Today. Retrieved on 2008-02-03.
- ^ "Miley Cyrus To Follow in Father's Footsteps", About.com, 2004-06-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
- ^ Samantha Critchell (2007-06-20). Style: Company targets tweens with ‘Hannah Montana’ clothes. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ Motoko Rich (2008-04-22). A Bookish Miley Cyrus. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
- ^ Wax Miley Cyrus Hits Madame Tussaud's. People Magazine (2008-03-20). Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
- ^ a b Tim Nudd, "Miley Cyrus: Being a Role Model Starts with the Clothes", People.com, December 20, 2007.
- ^ UltimateDisney.com Interview with Brenda Song, Star of "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody"
- ^ Miley Cyrus Makes Name Change Official - Miley Cyrus : People.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
- ^ Usmagazine.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
- ^ Miley Cyrus fulfills her destiny USAtoday.com
- ^ Hosanna, Montana! | Today's Christian
- ^ Hotseat: Hannah Montana CBBC Newsround interview
- ^ Kewl magazine [1]
- ^ Michelle Tan, "Behind the Scenes of Miley Cyrus's YouTube Hit", People.com, March 8, 2008.
- ^ "Miley Is No Madonna", E! Online, April 15, 2008.
- ^ Miley Cyrus Pregnancy Rumors Circulating. transworldnews.com (2007-09-24). Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
- ^ Charles Winters (2007-09-23). Is Hanna Montana star Miley Cyrus really pregnant?. gaysocialites.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
- ^ Miley Cyrus Is Not Pregnant. J-14 Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
- ^ Despite rumors, Miley Cyrus Is Not Pregnant. MSNBC News. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
- ^ Billy Ray Cyrus Says He, Miley Just Forgot to Buckle Up. Fox News Channel (2008-02-13). Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
- ^ Stephen M. Silverman and Michelle Tan (2008-02-13). Billy Ray Apologizes for Not Buckling Up. people.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
- ^ Miley Cyrus topless controversy. news.com.au/dailytelegraph/ (2008-04-28). Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
- ^ Stephen M. Silverman (2008-04-27). Miley Cyrus: I'm Sorry for Photos. people.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
- ^ a b c d Brook Barnes (2008-04-28). A Topless Photo Threatens a Major Disney Franchise. nytimes.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
- ^ a b Bruce Handy (2008-04-28). Miley Knows Best. vanityfair.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
- ^ 29th Annual Young Artist Awards - Nominations / Special Awards.
- ^ a b Teen choice 2007. FOX Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on 2008-05-10. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ Axcess News. "Zack Snyder's Film "300" tops in Golden Icon Awards", Axcess News.
External links
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