Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992) is an American child actress, singer, and songwriter. She is known for starring as Miley Stewart, "Hannah Montana" on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana.
Cyrus became an overnight 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 earners under 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 is due to be released on May 1, 2009.
Cyrus was born in Franklin, Tennessee, the daughter of Leticia "Tish" (née Finley) and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, 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. She also has an older half-sister, Brandi, a younger brother, Braison, and a younger sister, Noah, who is also an actress. She 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.
