Miley Cyrus

A hit with teens the world over, 16-year-old singer-actress Miley is fast becoming one of the world's biggest ever teen stars, says VERUS FERREIRA.

Though still in her teens, in a short span of time, Miley has managed to achieve success that many youngsters her age can only dream of. Destiny Hope Cyrus, better known as Miley Cyrus, is an American actress, singer and songwriter, born on November 23, 1992 in Nashville, Tennessee. Rumour has it that Destiny Hope kept smiling most of the day when she was young — the reason for her nickname 'Miley', which comes from 'Smiley'.

She attended Heritage Middle School as a child, but presently schools at a place called Options for Youth. She also has a private tutor who visits her on movie sets. She is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus (famous for Achy Breaky Heart) and Leticia Cyrus. Miley has an older half-sister Brandi and two older half-brothers, Trace and Christopher Cody, a younger brother Braison, and a younger sister Noah Lindsey, who is also an actress.

Miley got interested in acting when the family briefly lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She had her first TV appearance at the age of nine, playing a guest role in her father's TV series Doc. In 2003, she played young Ruthie in Tim Burton's Big Fish. Later she also appeared in Rhonda Vincent's music video If Heartaches Have Wings. But all that never really got her the fame she expected until the role of a lifetime fell into her lap.

Miley was 12 when she auditioned for Disney for the lead role of Miley Stewart/ 'Hannah Montana', as well as the show's 'best friend' roles, but Disney Channel executives judged her to be too young. However, Miley was persistent in her desire to be part of the Hannah Montana series, so Disney recalled her for further auditions. Miley was finally chosen for the role due to her energetic and lively performance.

In Hannah Montana, Miley stars as the lead character Miley Stewart, whose alter ego is pop music sensation Hannah Montana. Interestingly, Miley spent several years trying to get rid of her Southern accent, but in the end Disney wanted her to revive it. Later, in another unusual twist, she had to audition her own father Billy Ray Cyrus, to see if he would fit the role of Hannah's dad. Miley has also previously done a brief cameo in the hugely popular 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 in Disney's The Emperor's New School.

In October 2006, Walt Disney Records released the Hannah Montana soundtrack, which included eight songs she performed as Hannah Montana. Around the same time, she also signed a four-album major record deal with Hollywood Records for her own albums. The soundtrack was later re-released twice — a Holiday Edition featuring Miley's cover of Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree and a Special Edition featuring Nobody's Perfect.

Miley, playing the lead in the Disney flick, has also been promoting the series in a big way. Disney released a 'Hannah Montana' clothing collection in late summer 2007 with Miley even designing some of the pieces from the collection. She says. “It's not a costume. A teen girl isn't doing dress-up; they want to look like they could be Hannah Montana's friend. This is a fashion line.”

In June 2007, Miley released a double album Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. The first disc was the second Hannah Montana soundtrack, while the other was her debut album of 10 songs, of which Miley co-wrote eight. This also gave her a platform to release her debut effort which was the stepping stone to a solo music career. The single See You Again became Miley's first song to enter the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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.

Generous to a cause, in 2007, Cyrus made a large contribution to the City of Hope, giving $1 for every 'Hannah Montana' concert ticket sold. She said, “The cool thing about being a part of City of Hope is that they are a cancer research centre. 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.”

In April 2008, Miley announced plans to write a book about her life and career. The Disney Book Group bought the rights to the book (for a reported seven figures) to be published by their imprint Disney-Hyperion Books for a scheduled release in 2009. An initial print run of one million copies is planned.

The 16-year-old has now released her second studio album under her own name — Breakout; the first Miley Cyrus album that has no connection with the Hannah Montana franchise and is all brand new material. The album's first single 7 Things, became her highest charting single.

Miley is now awaiting the release of Hannah Montana: The Movie to be produced by her on and off-screen dad Billy Ray Cyrus due for release early this year. She also stars as the voice of Penny in the upcoming Walt Disney Pictures animated comedy adventure Bolt.

In her father, Miley says, she has a role model as grounded as a daughter could have. “He'll say: 'These are people supporting you. Be good to them,'” Miley recalls her father's advice on fans. She adds: “I have always been known as Billy Ray Cyrus' daughter,” she said. “Now they say my name. I freak out!'