60 Fun Facts About Miley Cyrus

What first and middle names was Miley Cyrus given at birth?

Her parents nicknamed the smiley baby 'Smiley', which shrank to 'Miley'; she made it legal in 2008, taking Ray as a middle name after her grandfather.

Miley Cyrus was born in November 1992 in which Tennessee town?

Her father Billy Ray was riding high on 'Achy Breaky Heart' that year; she is the middle of five children if you count her mother's two from an earlier relationship.

Which country legend is Miley Cyrus's godmother?

She defended Miley through the 2013 controversies with 'the girl can write', and Miley later starred in her NBC film Mountain Magic Christmas.

When she legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus in 2008, whom did the middle name honour?

Ronald Ray Cyrus was a Democratic politician from Kentucky; her father Billy Ray also carries the name.

Hannah Montana premiered on Disney Channel in March of which year?

It ran four seasons and became a billion-dollar franchise, earning its star the honorific 'Teen Queen' of 2000s pop culture.

What is the everyday name of Cyrus's Hannah Montana character, the girl behind the wig?

The character was originally going to be called something else; the first name was changed to match the actress to limit confusion about the show's premise.

Billy Ray Cyrus played her father on Hannah Montana. What was the character's name?

He was only asked to audition after his daughter had won the lead; the character is a retired country star who manages her career.

On Hannah Montana, what alias does best friend Lilly Truscott adopt to hang out with Hannah?

Oliver Oken, the other friend in on the secret, goes by Mike Stanley III.

What is the title of the Hannah Montana theme song, sung by Cyrus?

It also gave its name to her 2007-08 arena tour and the 3D concert film that followed.

What was Miley Cyrus's debut single under her own name, released in 2007?

She was credited as a co-writer under her birth name, and the song reached number 17 on the Hot 100 in early 2008.

Which actor voiced the title dog in Bolt (2008) and duetted with the voice of Penny on 'I Thought I Lost You'?

The song earned her a Golden Globe nomination at 16; she has since picked up two more in the same category.

Which singer turns up at the barn party in Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009) to perform 'Crazier'?

The film was shot largely in Columbia, Tennessee, and its soundtrack gave the world 'The Climb' and the 'Hoedown Throwdown'.

'The Climb' (2009) topped Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary chart for how many consecutive weeks?

Its Grammy nomination for song written for visual media was later withdrawn on the label's request because the song had not been written specifically for the film.

Which future star co-wrote 'Party in the U.S.A.' but initially decided not to record it?

She eventually did cover it. The song debuted and peaked at number two, held off the top by 'I Gotta Feeling', and has sold six million copies in the US.

'Party in the U.S.A.' was kept off number one in 2009 mainly by which Black Eyed Peas hit?

It also spent a week behind Jay Sean's 'Down', but its 226,000 first-week downloads made it the fastest-selling single Hollywood Records had ever released.

Which photographer took the 2008 Vanity Fair shoot of a 15-year-old Cyrus that caused a media storm?

The scandal actually boosted her fame; afterwards a single paparazzi photo of her could reportedly fetch up to $2,000.

The Last Song (2010), filmed on Tybee Island, Georgia, was based on a novel by which author?

It was her bid for a more grown-up image, and it is where she met co-star Liam Hemsworth, beginning a decade-long on-off relationship.

The one track Cyrus didn't co-write on Can't Be Tamed was a cover of which Poison ballad?

The album was her last for Hollywood Records; she moved to RCA in early 2013.

Miley Cyrus's notorious 2013 VMAs performance paired 'We Can't Stop' with 'Blurred Lines' alongside which singer?

The foam finger and twerking made it the most talked-about TV moment of the year; a year later she won Video of the Year at the same show.

'We Can't Stop' interpolates which 1985 hip-hop classic by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick?

Bangerz was full of borrowed hooks: 'SMS' lifts from Salt-N-Pepa's 'Push It' and 'My Darlin'' from 'Stand by Me'.

What did Miley Cyrus score in 2013 when Bangerz and 'Wrecking Ball' topped the UK charts in the same week?

'Wrecking Ball' had entered the US Hot 100 at number 50 before its video sent it to number one; nine weeks later it returned to the top, then the biggest gap in a single chart run.

Who directed the 'Wrecking Ball' music video, complete with sledgehammer-licking?

It set a Vevo record with 19.3 million views in 24 hours, and Cyrus later joked she would 'never live down' licking the sledgehammer.

Which song kept 'Wrecking Ball' at two or three for nine weeks before it returned to number one?

Lorde's breakthrough blocked it until December, when a viral parody helped push Cyrus back to number one.

How did Cyrus make her entrance each night on the 2014 Bangerz Tour?

The tour's outfits and stagecraft drew constant headlines; critics nonetheless gave the show largely positive reviews.

Who accepted Cyrus's 2014 VMA for Video of the Year on stage on her behalf?

Jesse Helt spoke for 'the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth' in America, a cause that became her Happy Hippie charity the same year.

In 2013 Cyrus hired manager Larry Rudolph, best known for guiding which other pop star's career?

The hire came as she reinvented herself with Bangerz, working with Mike Will Made It and Pharrell Williams.

Which psychedelic band made the surprise 2015 album Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz with her?

She announced it during her stint hosting the 2015 VMAs and put it up for free streaming; Elton John called the collaboration the kind of leftfield thing that 'would have happened during the '60s'.

Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz streamed free on which platform right after the 2015 VMAs?

She hosted that year's show, the first openly pansexual host in its history, and closed it with a surprise performance of 'Dooo It!'.

Which coach did Cyrus replace when she joined The Voice for season 11 in 2016?

She did two seasons and then declined to return for season 14, around the time she stopped promoting Younger Now.

What was the lead single from 2017's Younger Now, named after the California beach city where she then lived?

It reached number ten on the Hot 100 and went double platinum, but she later admitted the album's country-pop direction 'wasn't exactly the home' for her.

Which producer did Miley Cyrus credit with helping her 'carve out' her sound on 'Nothing Breaks Like a Heart'?

That single went to number two in the UK, and she sent him a cannabis bouquet as a joke Valentine's gift the following year.

In her 2019 Black Mirror episode, Cyrus plays a manufactured pop star named what?

She also voices the AI doll version of the character; the episode was filmed in South Africa in late 2018.

Which pop star features on 'Prisoner', the second single from Plastic Hearts (2020)?

The album's other guests were rock royalty: Billy Idol, Joan Jett and Stevie Nicks.

The Stevie Nicks remix of 'Midnight Sky' mashed it up with which of her classics?

Nicks lent her vocals to the remix, and Cyrus performed the mash-up at both New Year's Rockin' Eve and the Super Bowl LV TikTok Tailgate.

Who directed the music video for 'Midnight Sky' (2020)?

Vogue read the video's late-1970s glamour as a nod to her rock heroines Joan Jett, Debbie Harry and Stevie Nicks.

After eight years with RCA, Cyrus signed with which label in March 2021?

Her first album there was Endless Summer Vacation, whose lead single finally brought her a Grammy.

'Flowers' was released on January 12, 2023, a date fans quickly noticed was whose birthday?

The lyrics also mention the Malibu home the couple lost in the Woolsey Fire, and many heard it as an answer to Bruno Mars's 'When I Was Your Man'.

How many non-consecutive weeks did 'Flowers' spend at number one on the Billboard Hot 100?

It was her second US number one and the best-selling global single of 2023 with 2.7 billion subscription-stream equivalents.

'Flowers' set a record by spending how many weeks at number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart?

That made it the longest-running number one on any Billboard airplay chart in history, and its 106 cumulative airplay-chart weeks at the top passed 'Blinding Lights'.

At the 2024 Grammys 'Flowers' brought Cyrus her first ever wins. Which two awards did it take?

She changed the lyrics mid-performance to sing 'I just won my first Grammy!'; the song was also nominated for Song of the Year and lost.

Endless Summer Vacation's tracklist is split into two halves. What are they called?

She said AM captures morning 'buzz and energy' while PM has 'a slinky, seediness' with glamour; a Disney+ Backyard Sessions special arrived the same day as the album.

Cyrus won her third Grammy in 2025 for 'II Most Wanted', a duet from whose album Cowboy Carter?

It won Best Country Duo/Group Performance, a neat full circle for a singer who started out as Billy Ray Cyrus's daughter.

In 2024, aged 31, Cyrus became the youngest person ever to receive which honour?

It recognised her contributions to the company that made her a star; she also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Something Beautiful (2025) was released as what kind of project?

It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200; a deluxe edition added tracks featuring two members of Fleetwood Mac and David Byrne.

The deluxe edition of Something Beautiful features two members of which classic rock band?

She had honoured the band at MusiCares in 2018 and had already borrowed Stevie Nicks for the 'Edge of Midnight' remix.

Cyrus's charity, founded in 2014 to help homeless and LGBTQ youth, was set up under what name?

In 2024 she announced it would be renamed after herself; its early Backyard Sessions launch featured a duet with Joan Jett.

Her Backyard Sessions began in 2012 as what?

The format returned in 2015 to launch her charity, and again in 2023 as a Disney+ concert special for Endless Summer Vacation.

Her 2009 outing was the first time she took a show around the globe. What was it called?

Her 2011 Gypsy Heart Tour then pointedly skipped North America entirely; she said she only wanted to travel where she felt 'the most love'.

Which Saturday Night Live star co-hosted Miley's New Year's Eve Party with her from Miami?

The special was made under her production company, Hopetown Entertainment, as part of a deal with NBCUniversal.

Which of these is one of Cyrus's siblings?

Noah, an actress and singer, and brother Braison are Billy Ray and Tish's younger children; Tish's older two, Brandi and Trace, are Miley's half-siblings.

According to her Wikipedia biography, how many Guinness World Records has Miley Cyrus set?

They sit alongside three Grammys, a Brit Award, five Billboard Music Awards and three VMAs.

Cyrus stopped eating animal products and became vegan in which year?

It was the same year she founded her charity and pivoted from Bangerz toward the Flaming Lips collaboration.

Which heart condition was Miley Cyrus born with?

It causes an abnormal resting heart rate; her parents' nickname for the smiling infant, 'Smiley', later shortened to Miley.

In which 2003 Tim Burton film was Cyrus credited under her birth name as 'Young Ruthie'?

Her first acting role had been Kylie in her father's series Doc; she was also a finalist for Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

Which Hannah Montana role did Cyrus originally audition for?

Her comic audition got her called back for the lead, though she was first turned down as too small and too young.

Cyrus was dropped as the voice of Mavis in Hotel Transylvania and replaced by whom?

She said she wanted to focus on music; it later emerged the exit followed a birthday-cake incident involving Liam Hemsworth.

Which 2018 California wildfire destroyed the home Cyrus shared with Liam Hemsworth?

They married weeks later at their Nashville home; Cyrus called the loss of the house the catalyst for the wedding.

Which of Cyrus's siblings was a vocalist and guitarist in the band Metro Station?

All her maternal siblings are entertainers; Brandi played in the indie band Frank + Derol and Noah is a singer and actress.

What name did Cyrus give her 2022 run of festival dates supporting Plastic Hearts?

It took her to North, South and Central America, her first South American dates since 2011.

Who was Cyrus's agent, often credited with 'discovering' her?

He ran the youth division at Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty; her mother Tish served as her manager.