Miley Cyrus Biography: Hannah Montana, Bangerz, "Flowers", Grammys, Something Beautiful and Bass Persuades (2026)

Miley Cyrus: The Shape-Shifter Who Kept Coming Back

Few pop stars have reinvented themselves as often or as publicly as Miley Cyrus. She became one of the biggest child stars in the world at 13 as Disney’s Hannah Montana. She later shocked audiences with the provocative Bangerz era, explored psychedelic rock, country-tinged pop, glam rock and disco, and then, after nearly two decades of fame, won her first Grammys with the breakup anthem “Flowers”.

In 2026 she reinvented herself again. She dropped her surname professionally, recording as simply Miley, and released Bass Persuades, her first album to debut at No. 1 since 2013. She also revisited Hannah Montana for the show’s 20th anniversary, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and mourned her godmother, Dolly Parton.

Early Life in Tennessee

Miley Cyrus was born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee, near Nashville. Her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, is the country singer known for “Achy Breaky Heart”, and her mother is Tish Cyrus. She grew up on a farm in Tennessee with several siblings and half-siblings, including Noah, Braison, Trace and Brandi.

Her parents nicknamed her “Smiley” as a baby, which was shortened to Miley. She legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus in 2008, honoring her grandfather, Kentucky politician Ron Cyrus. Dolly Parton was her godmother and became a lifelong mentor and frequent collaborator.

Growing up around her father’s career, she was drawn to performing early. She had a small role on her father’s TV series Doc and appeared briefly in the 2003 film Big Fish.

Hannah Montana

In 2005, at 12, she won the lead in a new Disney Channel series about a teenager secretly living a double life as a pop star. The show was renamed Hannah Montana, and her character’s name was changed to Miley Stewart. Billy Ray Cyrus was cast as her on-screen father.

The series premiered on March 24, 2006, and became a massive hit, running for four seasons until 2011 and earning several Emmy nominations for outstanding children’s program. Its soundtrack albums topped the Billboard 200. The franchise was one of Disney’s most profitable of the decade.

In 2007, she released a double album, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus, which included her first songs under her own name. Her first headlining tour, the Best of Both Worlds Tour (2007–2008), sold out quickly, and its 3D concert film became a box-office hit. Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009) produced the ballad “The Climb”, one of her most enduring songs.

Becoming Miley Cyrus

Her first album billed only as Miley Cyrus, Breakout (2008), debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and included “7 Things”. In 2009, “Party in the U.S.A.” reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 and became one of her signature hits.

Can’t Be Tamed (2010) signaled her desire to move beyond her Disney image with a more adult sound and look. That same year she starred in the film The Last Song, where she met Australian actor Liam Hemsworth, who would become her longtime partner and later her husband.

Bangerz and “Wrecking Ball”

After Hannah Montana ended in 2011, she signed with RCA Records and dramatically changed her image. She cut her hair short, bleached it, and embraced hip-hop influences and an openly provocative persona.

Her fourth studio album, Bangerz, released in October 2013, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. “We Can’t Stop” became a hit, and “Wrecking Ball”, a power ballad with a widely parodied video of her swinging naked on a wrecking ball, became her first No. 1 on the Hot 100. Her performance with Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards was one of the most discussed and criticized moments in the show’s history.

In 2014, she founded the Happy Hippie Foundation, which supports homeless and LGBTQ+ youth. She has spoken publicly about being pansexual and genderfluid, and her advocacy for LGBTQ+ young people has been a consistent part of her career.

Experimentation and Reinvention

In 2015, she hosted the MTV VMAs and surprise-released Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, a psychedelic collaboration with the Flaming Lips, free online. She then pulled back toward country-pop with Younger Now (2017), which included “Malibu”, inspired by her reconciliation with Hemsworth.

She also served as a coach on NBC’s The Voice in 2016 and 2017. She married Hemsworth in December 2018. They separated in 2019 and divorced in early 2020.

Plastic Hearts

Her seventh studio album, Plastic Hearts (2020), was a glam-rock and 1980s-inspired record featuring Joan Jett, Billy Idol and Stevie Nicks. “Midnight Sky” was a hit, and her raspy, lower voice was widely praised as well suited to rock. Her covers of rock classics, including Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” and the Cranberries’ “Zombie”, went viral.

She has spoken about her sobriety, including a relapse during the pandemic and her return to sobriety. In 2021 and 2022 she co-hosted Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party on NBC, with Dolly Parton joining her as co-host in later editions.

Endless Summer Vacation and “Flowers”

In January 2023, she released “Flowers”, a breezy disco-pop song about self-love after a breakup, which many listeners connected to her divorce. It became one of the biggest songs of the decade, spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and breaking Spotify streaming records.

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Her eighth album, Endless Summer Vacation, followed in March 2023 and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. At the 2024 Grammys, “Flowers” won Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, her first Grammy Awards after years of nominations.

In 2024, she was named a Disney Legend. She also featured on Beyoncé’s “II Most Wanted” from Cowboy Carter, which won the Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance in 2025, her third Grammy. Her song “Beautiful That Way” from the film The Last Showgirl earned a Golden Globe nomination.

Something Beautiful

Her ninth album, Something Beautiful, was released on May 30, 2025. She described it as a “pop opera” and visual album, partly inspired by Pink Floyd’s The Wall, with themes of healing from trauma and finding beauty in dark times. Collaborators included Naomi Campbell and Brittany Howard, and it was produced with Kid Harpoon, Michael Pollack, Shawn Everett and Maxx Morando.

It debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The accompanying film, which she co-directed with Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter, premiered at the Tribeca Festival on June 6, 2025, played in cinemas for one night, and later streamed on Disney+ and Hulu. She described the film as her “way of touring”. A deluxe edition added songs with Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood and with David Byrne. Critics praised the ambition but were divided on the songwriting.

Engagement to Maxx Morando

In December 2025, Cyrus confirmed her engagement to Maxx Morando, a musician and producer best known as the drummer of the band Liily. The couple began dating in late 2021 after being set up on a blind date. Morando has been a key creative collaborator on her recent albums, co-writing and producing songs on Endless Summer Vacation, Something Beautiful and Bass Persuades.

Hannah Montana at 20

On March 24, 2026, exactly 20 years after the series premiered, Disney+ and Hulu released the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special. It was filmed before a live audience and hosted by Alex Cooper. The special featured an interview with Cyrus, recreations of the show’s sets, appearances by her parents, a surprise cameo by Selena Gomez and her first performance as Hannah Montana in about 15 years.

Variety praised the special and said it showed she had survived Disney Channel stardom and thrived. She described the anniversary as a way to thank the fans who had stood by her for 20 years.

In May 2026, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Loss of Dolly Parton

On August 25, 2026, Dolly Parton, Cyrus’s godmother, died at 80. Their relationship was one of the most beloved in music, and the two had collaborated many times over the years, including on “Jolene” performances and their New Year’s Eve specials. Cyrus paid public tribute to Parton, saying she felt she had an angel by her side.

Bass Persuades: A New Name and a Return to No. 1

Days later, Cyrus began a new era. She removed “Cyrus” from her social media handles and announced she would now be billed simply as Miley. On September 1, 2026, she announced her 10th studio album, Bass Persuades, her first release with Atlantic Records after leaving Columbia. She described it as a love story, noting that love stories are always layered.

The title track was released on September 3 and debuted at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. The 10-track album was released on September 18, 2026, produced with collaborators including Kid Harpoon, Michael Pollack, Maxx Morando and the band Model/Actriz.

Bass Persuades debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 61,000 equivalent units, including 47,000 in album sales, well above industry projections. It was her sixth No. 1 album, her 16th top 10 album and her first No. 1 since Bangerz in 2013. It received generally favorable reviews, with a Metacritic score of 63.

She is set to perform the album live at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 16 and 18, 2026, with Model/Actriz opening. They will be her first public headline shows in about four years. She had previously said she had little desire to tour because long tours made it hard to protect her mental health.

Voice, Style and Legacy

Miley Cyrus’s voice is one of her greatest strengths: a raspy, powerful alto that suits country, pop, rock and soul. She has repeatedly used dramatic changes in sound and image to mark new chapters in her life, from Hannah Montana to Bangerz, Plastic Hearts, Endless Summer Vacation, Something Beautiful and now Bass Persuades.

Her career also shows that a Disney child star can survive the transition to adulthood in public and emerge with long-term artistic credibility. She has spoken openly about mental health, sobriety and her complicated family relationships, and her advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth through the Happy Hippie Foundation has been a constant.

At 33, she has three Grammys, six No. 1 albums, iconic hits including “Party in the U.S.A.”, “Wrecking Ball” and “Flowers”, and a new No. 1 album under a new name.

Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Birth name	Destiny Hope Cyrus (legally Miley Ray Cyrus since 2008)
Current artist name	Miley (since September 2026)
Born	November 23, 1992, Franklin, Tennessee
Age	33 (as of October 2026)
Parents	Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus
Godmother	Dolly Parton (died 2026)
Famous role	Miley Stewart / Hannah Montana (2006–2011)
Current label	Atlantic Records (from 2026)
Studio albums	Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), Breakout (2008), Can’t Be Tamed (2010), Bangerz (2013), Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (2015), Younger Now (2017), Plastic Hearts (2020), Endless Summer Vacation (2023), Something Beautiful (2025), Bass Persuades (2026)
Hot 100 No. 1s	“Wrecking Ball”, “Flowers”
Grammy Awards	3 (Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Flowers”; Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “II Most Wanted” with Beyoncé)
Foundation	Happy Hippie Foundation (2014)
Partner	Maxx Morando (engaged December 2025)

Miley Cyrus Biography: Hannah Montana, Bangerz, “Flowers”, Grammys, Something Beautiful and Bass Persuades (2026)