By Neia Balao
5:33am PDT, Mar 24, 2021
From Disney teen star to a major force in the music industry, there's no question that Miley Cyrus' career has transformed tremendously. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the premiere of "Hannah Montana" — the show that made Miley a household name — Wonderwall.com is taking a look at the actress-singer's career transformation! Keep reading for more…
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Miley Cyrus was born Destiny Hope Cyrus on Nov. 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee, to country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Finley. She later legally changed her name to Miley — a moniker derived from her childhood nickname, "Smiley." She's pictured here with her father ahead of her second birthday in October 1994.
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Miley Cyrus earned her first on-screen credit when she appeared on her dad's show, "Doc," as a child. Her breakout role came when she was 11 as she originated the titular role on the Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana." In no time, the series became one of the network's most popular shows ever, and Miley was well on her way to becoming a teen star.
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Miley Cyrus is pictured here with "Hannah Montana" co-stars Mitchel Musso, Billy Ray Cyrus (her real-life dad played her father on TV), Emily Osment and Jason Earles in 2006, the same year the series debuted.
Young love! Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas, seen here at a Six Flags amusement park in 2007, were romantically linked from June 2006 to December 2007 then on and off until 2009.
In 2007, Miley Cyrus inked a four-album deal with Hollywood Records. That same year, she released the two-disc album "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus." While the first disc served as a soundtrack to "Hannah Montana," the second marked Miley's debut studio album and contained the lead single "See You Again." Since its release, the album has sold upwards of 3 million copies!
2008 marked the year in which Miley Cyrus embarked on her "Best of Both Worlds" tour to promote the release of "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus." Miley's debut tour was a huge success that grossed upwards of $54 million. It also spawned the 3D film "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert."
In 2008, Miley Cyrus, seen here during a performance on "Dancing With the Stars" that same year, released her second studio album, "Breakout." The project, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 370,000 copies in its first week, earned Miley her highest first-week sales at that point in her career.
In 2009, Miley Cyrus released the very successful single "Party in the U.S.A," which was recorded for her first EP, "The Time of Our Lives." In addition to peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the track was the seventh bestselling digital single in the United States that year and went seven-times platinum. Miley's seen here performing "Party in the U.S.A." at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards.
Love is in the air! 2009 marked the year in which Miley Cyrus began dating Australian actor Liam Hemsworth, whom she met while filming the romantic drama "The Last Song." After making their red carpet debut in March 2010, Miley and Liam (seen here that same month), briefly called it quits before reportedly rekindling their romance in September 2010. "I think we're both deeper than normal people — what they think and how they feel," Miley told Teen Vogue in 2010. "He's very grateful for what he has, but he doesn't let it go to his head. I'm like that too."
The film that started it all! Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are seen here in 2009's "The Last Song."
Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus are seen here on an episode of "Hannah Montana" that aired on the Disney Channel in March 2010.
In 2012, Miley Cyrus starred in the teen rom-com "LOL" alongside Demi Moore, Ashley Greene and Adam Sevani. The film, which is an American adaptation of the French film "LOL (Laughing Out Loud)," garnered primarily negative reviews. It grossed just $10.5 million on an $11 million budget.
In May 2012, a 22-year-old Liam Hemsworth proposed to a 19-year-old Miley Cyrus with a 3.5-carat Neil Lane diamond ring after three years of dating. The newly engaged pair was spotted the following month at the Australians in Film Eighth Annual Breakthrough Awards.
In August 2013, Miley Cyrus — who'd cut her trademark long locks super-short at this point — hit the stage alongside Robin Thicke during the MTV Video Music Awards. The performance marked a drastic departure from her days as a Disney star. During the performance, which marked a major moment in pop culture, audiences saw Miley twerking in a skin-colored bikini.
Just a few weeks after her infamous 2013 MTV Video Music Awards performance, news broke that Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth (seen here that same month) had called it quits. In September 2013, Miley released her controversial fourth studio album, "Bangerz," which marked a stark musical departure from her earlier sound. The album was a commercial success — in addition to hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, the music video for her second single, "Wrecking Ball" — in which she's seen unclothed and straddling the aforementioned demolition tool — became Vevo's most viewed video of all time.
In addition to founding the nonprofit organization The Happy Hippie Organization in 2014, Miley Cyrus also embarked on her "Bangerz" world tour. The concert trek, which promoted her fourth studio album and ran from February 2014 to October 2014, grossed $62 million.
In 2014, Miley Cyrus dated fellow celebrity spawn Patrick Schwarzenegger. Miley even joined Patrick at his alma mater as they attended a USC game that November. However, by April 2015, the duo had called it quits. In the summer of 2015, Miley was romantically involved with model Stella Maxwell.
In 2015, Miley Cyrus released her fifth studio album, "Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz." In promotion of the project, Miley embarked on the eight-city "Milky Milky Milk" tour, which ran from November to December 2015.
By late 2015, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, seen here at the premiere of Marvel's "Thor: Ragnarok" in 2017, had rekindled their romance! "I needed to change so much," Miley told Billboard in 2017 of falling back in love with Liam. "And changing with someone else not changing like that is too hard. Suddenly you're like, 'I don't recognize you anymore.' We had to re-fall for each other."
Miley Cyrus joined the cast of NBC's "The Voice" in 2016 as an adviser and went on to become a full-time coach on the show's 11th season, then returned for its 13th season (pictured). In 2017, she coached alongside Jennifer Hudson, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine.
In 2017, Miley Cyrus released the lead single from her sixth studio album, "Younger Now," entitled "Malibu." The track and accompanying video were seen by critics as Miley's return to a more tame, chilled-out sound and image — unlike her controversial "Bangerz" days. She's seen here at a Spotify party in celebration of the album's release in September 2017.
Gorgeous! In October 2017, Miley Cyrus took the stage on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" to perform "The Climb."
In December 2018, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth quietly got married at her Tennessee home. The pair, seen here at the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party months before their wedding day tied the knot a month after their Malibu home was destroyed by the Woolsey wildfire. "He was so incredible," Miley told radio host Howard Stern of Liam's bravery during their evacuation. "He got all the animals out in his truck. He put two bigs in crates, which, I tell you, is so hard."
In 2019, Miley Cyrus starred on a buzzed-about season 5 episode of Netflix's "Black Mirror" as fictional pop sensation Ashley O.
Unfortunately, their romance didn't last. In August 2019, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth — seen here at the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2020 runway show two months prior — announced they were going their separate ways after less than eight months as a married couple. Their divorce was finalized in January 2020.
Following a short-lived romance with reality TV star and actress Kaitlynn Carter (who had just left a long partnership with "The Hills: New Beginnings" star Brody Jenner), Miley Cyrus moved on with a longtime friend, Australian singer-songwriter Cody Simpson. The pair began making headlines with their romance in late 2019. They dated until August 2020.
In August 2020, a newly single Miley Cyrus stunned on the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. That evening, the 27-year-old actress-singer performed her new single, "Midnight Sky," which went on to become her highest charting track since 2017's "Malibu." That November, Miley released her seventh studio album, "Plastic Hearts," which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
A new era! In March 2021, Miley Cyrus — seen here performing during Ryan Seacrest's "New Year's Rockin' Eve" telecast in December 2020 — signed with Columbia Records, joining a roster of superstars that include BTS, Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Harry Styles.
