Miley Ray Cyrus

 Miley Ray Cyrus (Destiny Hope Cyrus) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. Destiny Hope Cyrus was born on November 23, 1992, in Nashville, Tennessee, to Letitia Jean "Tish" Finley Cyrus and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Her name was derived from her parents' belief that she would accomplish great things, and she was given the nickname "Smiley", later shortened to "Miley", because she often smiled as an infant. She officially changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus in 2008; her middle name honors her paternal grandfather, Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus, to whom she remained close until his death in 2006.

Against the advice of her father's record company, Cyrus's parents secretly married a year after her birth on December 28, 1993. They had two more children together, son Braison and daughter Noah. Miley Cyrus has two elder maternal half-siblings, Trace and Brandi, and an elder paternal half-brother named Christopher. Christopher grew up with his mother Kristin Luckey in South Carolina. Three of her siblings also eventually entered the entertainment business; Trace as a vocalist and guitarist for the electronic pop band Metro Station, Noah as an actress, and Brandi as a guitarist. Cyrus's godmother is entertainer Dolly Parton.

Cyrus grew up on a 500-acre (2.0 km2) farm in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville, and attended Heritage Elementary School. She was raised Christian and was baptized in a Southern Baptist church prior to moving to Hollywood in 2005. She attended church regularly while growing up and wore a purity ring. In 2001, when Cyrus was eight, she and her family moved to Toronto, Canada while her father filmed the television series Doc.

After Billy Ray took her to see a 2001 Mirvish production of Mamma Mia! at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Cyrus grabbed his arm and told him, "This is what I want to do, daddy. I want to be an actress." She began taking singing and acting classes at the Armstrong Acting Studio in Toronto. In her first role, Miley Cyrus played a girl named Kylie on Doc. In 2003, Cyrus was credited under her birth name for her role as "Young Ruthie" in Tim Burton's Big Fish. During this time, she also auditioned with Taylor Lautner for the feature film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D and it came down to her and another actress, but Cyrus started doing Hannah Montana instead.

At age 11, Miley Ray Cyrus learned of the casting for what became Hannah Montana, a Disney Channel children's television series about a schoolgirl with a secret double life as a teen pop star. Cyrus sent in a tape auditioning for its best friend role, but received a call asking her to audition for the lead, Chloe Stewart. After sending in a new tape and flying to Hollywood for further auditions, Cyrus was told that she was too young and too small for the part. However, the series' producers invited her for further auditions in light of her persistence and her singing and acting abilities.

 The following year, Cyrus received the lead position, renamed Miley Stewart after herself. Hannah Montana premiered on March 24, 2006, to the largest audience for a Disney Channel program, and quickly ranked among the highest-rated series on basic cable, elevating Cyrus' wealth and fame. Its instant success helped propel Miley Cyrus to teen idol status.

In April 2008, several provocative images of Cyrus in her underwear and swimsuit were leaked by a teenage hacker who accessed her Gmail account. Cyrus described the images as "silly, inappropriate shots" and stated, "I am going to make mistakes and I am not perfect. I never intended for any of this to happen and I am truly sorry if I have disappointed anyone". On April 25, 2008, Entertainment Tonight reported that a fifteen-year-old Cyrus had posed topless for a photoshoot taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair. The New York Times later clarified that though the pictures left an impression that she was bare-breasted, Cyrus was wrapped in a bedsheet and was actually not topless.

In a May 2008 interview with The Los Angeles Times, Francois Navarre, the proprietor of the X17 photo agency, said Cyrus's market value had picked up considerably after the Vanity Fair photo controversy: "She's started to sell more. ... It used to be $300, and now it's $2,000 for a picture." Estimates for a picture of the then-15-year-old's first kiss ranged from $30,000 to $150,000. Navarre noted that Cyrus rarely behaved in a manner contrary to her wholesome image or went out without a parent and stated, "She has people waiting for the moment she starts to be less traditional..... It's natural. Any teenager. But it's going to come very fast..... As soon as her mom lets her go out by herself. It's going to start to be interesting."

Miley Ray Cyrus was born with a heart condition called tachycardia, which is a resting heart rate exceeding normal. In early 2014, Cyrus suffered an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, Cephalexin, prescribed to her to treat a sinus infection. Due to the allergy, Cyrus was hospitalized at a Kansas City hospital.

Cyrus has stated that she dated singer and actor, Nick Jonas from June 2006 to December 2007. Cyrus claimed they were "in love" and began dating soon after they first met. Cyrus dated underwear model, Justin Gaston for nine months in 2009. While filming The Last Song in June 2009, Cyrus began a relationship with her co-star Liam Hemsworth whom she called her "first serious boyfriend". After three years of having an on-again, off-again relationship, the couple announced their engagement in June 2012 but ended their relationship in September 2013.

Miley Cyrus - 7 Things