Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Cyrus is better known for starring as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in the television series Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel.

Cyrus became a sensation after Hannah Montana debuted in March 2006. 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 Superstar Earners under the age of 25″ with an annual earning of US$3.5 million. As of December 2007, she is working on a movie spin-off of Hannah Montana, titled Hannah Montana: The Movie which set to release on April 10, 2009.

Cyrus’s solo music career began with the release of her debut album, Meet Miley Cyrus on June 23, 2007. Her second album, Breakout was released on July 22, 2008. Breakout is Cyrus’s first album that does not involve the Hannah Montana franchise. Both albums debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200.

In 2008, Cyrus was listed among artists and entertainers as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in The World.

Early life

Cyrus was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She is the daughter of Leticia “Tish” (née Finley) and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. She has two older half-brothers; Christopher Cody and Trace, the latter being a vocalist and guitarist of an electronic rock band, Metro Station in California. She also has an older half-sister, Brandi, a younger brother, Braison, and a younger sister, Noah, who is also an actress. Cyrus was named Destiny Hope because her parents believed that she would accomplish great things. Cyrus gained her nickname “Miley” because she kept smiling (“Smiley”) as a youngster.

Cyrus used to attend Heritage Middle School and was a cheerleader, but now goes to school at Options For Youth. She also has a private tutor on the set of her TV show. She grew up on her parents’ farm outside of Nashville, Tennessee where she also attended The People’s Church.

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. 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.

Tags: billboard 200, billy ray cyrus, disney channel, Metro Station, miley cyrus