Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus has spent her whole life reinventing herself in public, growing from a Disney Channel teen idol into one of the most adaptable and enduring pop stars of her generation. Born Miley Ray Cyrus on November 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee, the daughter of country star Billy Ray Cyrus and goddaughter of Dolly Parton, she rose to fame as the double-life pop star in Hannah Montana before charting a solo career that has run from teen pop to hip-hop, psychedelia and rock. In 2024 her single “Flowers” won her first Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year.

Hannah Montana and a country upbringing

Originally named Destiny Hope, she earned the nickname “Smiley,” later shortened to Miley, for her cheerful disposition. She grew up around music and acting, appearing in the Tim Burton film Big Fish and her father’s TV series Doc, before landing the lead role of Miley Stewart in Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana in 2005. Premiering in 2006, the show about a teenager living a secret life as a pop star turned her into a global teen idol, with its soundtrack albums topping the Billboard 200 and a hit concert tour drawing huge crowds.

Going solo

Even while Hannah Montana ran, Cyrus launched her own career. Her debut album, Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), and its follow-up, Breakout (2008), both reached number one, and “The Climb,” from the Hannah Montana movie, became an early signature ballad. Her 2009 EP gave her the enduring hit “Party in the U.S.A.” With Can’t Be Tamed (2010), she began deliberately stepping away from her wholesome Disney image, signaling that she had no intention of staying the teen star audiences first knew.

Bangerz and reinvention

The break was unmistakable with Bangerz in 2013, a number-one album steeped in hip-hop production and adult themes. It produced “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball,” her first number-one single, and a famously provocative performance at the MTV Video Music Awards that dominated headlines. She kept experimenting after that, releasing the free, psychedelic Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (2015) with the Flaming Lips, the rootsier Younger Now (2017), and the rock-leaning Plastic Hearts (2020), refusing to be pinned to any single genre.

Flowers and Grammy gold

In 2023 Cyrus released Endless Summer Vacation, anchored by “Flowers,” a self-empowerment anthem that became her second US number one and the best-selling single of the year. At the 2024 Grammy Awards it won Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, her first wins after years of nominations. She added a third Grammy in 2025 for “II Most Wanted,” her duet with Beyoncé, which took Best Country Duo/Group Performance, and continued forward with the ambitious Something Beautiful in 2025.

A pop survivor

Few artists who began as child stars have navigated adulthood so successfully or on such public terms. Cyrus has served as a coach on The Voice, become the youngest person honored as a Disney Legend, and founded the Happy Hippie Foundation in 2014 to support homeless and LGBTQ youth. Her ability to reinvent her sound and image while keeping a loyal audience has made her a constant presence in pop for nearly two decades, from arenas full of Hannah Montana fans to a Grammy stage celebrating “Flowers.”

A voice all her own

Through every era, the constant has been her distinctive raspy voice and her willingness to take risks. Whether belting a country-tinged ballad, a hedonistic pop anthem or a gritty rock song, Cyrus has used reinvention not as a gimmick but as a way to grow in front of her audience. That mix of vulnerability and fearlessness, paired with songs that range from playful to deeply personal, is why she has stayed relevant across so many shifts in popular music.

Roots that never left

For all her shape-shifting, Cyrus has always carried her Tennessee, country-music roots with her. The daughter of “Achy Breaky Heart” star Billy Ray Cyrus and goddaughter of Dolly Parton, she grew up steeped in the genre, and it keeps surfacing across her work, from “The Climb” to her Grammy-winning country duet with Beyoncé and her own re-recordings with Parton. That blend of pop ambition and country heritage gives her music a grounding that has helped it travel across audiences and styles.

Reinvention as a strategy

Each era of Cyrus’s career has come with its own sound and image, from the bedazzled pop of her Disney years to the hip-hop swagger of Bangerz, the psychedelic detour of Dead Petz, the rock edge of Plastic Hearts and the polished maturity of Endless Summer Vacation. Rather than confusing audiences, these shifts have kept her interesting and kept her growing in public. Her willingness to risk reinvention, and to be candid about therapy, sobriety and change along the way, has become central to her identity.

A lasting presence

By the mid-2020s Cyrus had spent two decades in the spotlight without losing relevance, a rare feat for any pop star and rarer still for a former child actor. Her catalogue spans some of the most recognizable songs of the era, and her live performances and reinventions continue to draw attention. The combination of a singular voice, fearless choices and an audience that has grown up alongside her has secured her place among the defining pop figures of her time.

Most loved songs

A spread across her catalogue. Each title opens through the in-site player.

From Disney sets to Grammy gold, Cyrus turned constant reinvention into a long career. If one of her songs is stuck in your head, type it into the search box above to find it.