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If you've been hearing the name lately especially from young children and teens and you're wondering who this celebrity is, two words: "Hannah Montana". Miley Cyrus is a young teen actress who plays the dual title role on Disney's TV Series "Hannah Montana". She plays Miley Stewart, a normal teenage girl whose alter ego is the flamboyant and extremely famous music pop icon, Hannah Montana. The success of this TV series launched young Miley into instant stardom and her star still shines on.
Miley Cyrus was born Destiny Hope Cyrus, daughter of Billy Ray and Leticia Cyrus. If you're wondering why the name "Billy Ray Cyrus" sounds familiar, maybe it's because you've heard of his most famous song, "Achey Brakey Heart" which came out in the 1990's. Between Billy Ray and Leticia, Miley has 5 other siblings: Trace and Brandi are her maternal siblings (children of Leticia from a previous relationship), Christopher Cody is his father's child from his previous relationship and she also has 2 younger siblings, Braison and Noah to complete the family.
The name Miley as it happens comes from "Smiley" which the family called Miley when she was younger because she smiled often. The nickname got shortened to Miley over time, which is kind of fateful considering that what launched her to stardom was her portrayal of a teenage girl named "Miley Stewart" in Hannah Montana.
Her passion for performing was probably ignited at a young age because when she was 9, she enrolled at the Armstrong Acting Studio in Toronto, Canada where she and her family lived for a while. Her first on-screen appearance was when she appeared on her father's TV series "Doc". After that, she also landed a stint as "Young Ruthie" on Tim Burton's "Big Fish". But, of course, she was determined that she was meant for greater things. She auditioned for the coveted title role of Hannah Montana for Disney's newest TV series. She was even willing to take on a lesser role, like that of the "best friend" character. However, it was initially not meant to be. Disney thought she was too young, too small for the part.
The winds of change blew forth. She was called back for further additions and well, it's no surprise, she got the part. The TV series became very popular with kids between 6 and 14 and parents liked her wholesome, role model image. As she was playing a popular music icon in the series, it is to be expected that she'll also be performing outside of the series. Several concerts and soundtrack CD's came out as part of the franchise. The first CD was essentially a soundtrack while the 2nd CD was both a soundtrack as well as her first musical debut album performing as herself and not as Hannah Montana. There was even a spin-off movie which she also starred in.
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