After spending 15 years putting distance between herself and Hannah Montana’s famous blonde wig, Miley Cyrus has returned to her roots (and put aside differences with her estranged father Billy Ray Cyrus) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the beloved Disney Channel character.
Much like the 2021 Friends reunion, which saw the cast share memories and secrets from the show’s epic run, father and daughter sat down with Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper in front of a live studio audience to dish on their time as the titular Hannah Montana and her father Robby Ray Stewart.
While Cyrus initially became synonymous with the squeaky-clean singer she portrayed from 2006 to 2011, in the 2019 Tubi documentary Miley Cyrus: Unleashed we learn that the star originally auditioned to play Hannah Montana’s best friend. But the then 13-year-old’s bubbly personality won over producers, and she was encouraged to take the lead.
Back when she was cast, her dad Billy Ray was the biggest celebrity in the Cyrus household, having made middle-aged ladies go weak at the knees with his 1992 boot-scootin’ hit Achy Breaky Heart.
In recent years the Cyrus clan has become fractured following Billy Ray’s 2020 split from Cyrus’ mum Tish Finley, and their divorce in 2022. Both have since moved on, with Billy Ray now loved up with Elizabeth Hurley and Tish remarried to Aussie Prison Break actor Dominic Purcell.
One of six siblings, Cyrus was born into country music royalty (her godmother is Dolly Parton). Originally named Destiny Hope, it was her cheerful nature that earned her the nickname “Smiley”.
Nepotism aside, performance was Smiley Miley’s destiny, according to showbiz editor Martel Maxwell.
Sharing a clip of Cyrus’ official TV debut, in which the then two-year-old wheeled a toy pram across the stage during her dad’s talk show appearance, Maxwell notes how the youngster showed no shyness, revelling in the applause and attention.
“So not only was showbiz in her blood, it was all around her and there was always a feeling that a) she would be a good singer and b) she would want to do it,” Maxwell explains.
Thanks to her natural charisma and the doors that opened after Hannah Montana, Cyrus’ success has now well and truly eclipsed her dad’s one-hit-wonder fame and fortune.
And unlike her TV alter ego Hannah Montana, there’s no way that the mega-famous singer could go incognito with a blonde wig.
“Hannah Montana premiered to the largest audience ever and Miley became a teen idol. She couldn’t walk down the street without being recognised,” Maxwell says in the doco.
“She was on posters around America and then the world. She was on bedsheets and packed lunch boxes.”
As she grew older, Cyrus became increasingly eager to show the world that she was no longer the smiley gal on the Disney merchandise.
She first caused controversy in 2008 by posing topless for famed photographer Annie Leibovitz (who shot Demi Moore’s nude baby bump pictures).
Parent groups were up in arms that the 15-year-old – who they claimed should be a role model to young audiences – would pose so provocatively. Responding to the outcry, Cyrus apologised saying: “I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for this to happen and I apologise to my fans.” Disney, meanwhile, accused Vanity Fair of taking advantage of a vulnerable teen, even though Cyrus’ parents and minders had been on set for the shoot and told Leibovitz they thought it was a lovely portrait.
By the time Hannah Montana drew to a close, Cyrus was champing at the bit for reinvention.
Soon after becoming engaged to Aussie heart-throb Liam Hemsworth, she lopped off her signature brown mane, instead sporting a peroxide blonde pixie cut – which Maxwell believes was a sign she wanted to sever the chains of her child stardom.
“It reminded me of the time Britney Spears really rebelled and shaved her hair off,” she says.
“You often find that former child stars or stars who find fame when they are very young, they really struggle to adapt in their later years.”
Then came Cyrus’ now infamous 2013 MTV VMAs performance with Robin Thicke.
Bumping and grinding with the Blurred Lines singer and a large foam finger, Cyrus left viewers with no doubt that Hannah Montana was all grown up.
Twitter (now X) was awash with 360,000 mentions every minute of her performance, with gobsmacked fans and critics airing their views about the salacious stunt.
At the time, she became the most tweeted person in history.
The conversation didn’t end there. Cyrus became a TV talk show hot topic, a person to banter about on radio, and made headlines around the world.
Of course, this act paved the way for the wrecking ball-straddling, tongue-poking, tattooed, straight-shooting performer we all know and love today.