Pop sensation Miley Cyrus is only 31 years old as of her first Grammy win in 2024, but with how long she’s been in the eyes of the public, you’d think she’d be much older.
The former Disney starlet made her splash into pop culture as Hannah Montana, the wig-wearing alter ego of Miley Stewart, in the show of the same name on Disney Channel. Premiering in March of 2006, Hannah Montana was an instant success for the channel on the heels of High School Musical‘s debut. A lot of the success is thanks to the charm and talent Cyrus brought to the titular role, though it almost looked a lot different. The show ran for 4 seasons from 2006 to 2011, racking up nearly 100 episodes, a theatrical film, and a world tour and accompanying concert film.
So it may come as a surprise to many that Cyrus was barely a teenager when first putting on Hannah’s blonde wig. Disney first green-lit Hannah Montana in August of 2005, meaning Cyrus filmed the show’s pilot episode when she was only 13 years old. Considering the show ended in 2011, Cyrus spent the entirety of her teen years balancing not only the music career of the fictional Hannah, but her own career as well.
Over a 4 year span, Cyrus released 5 albums as Hannah Montana and 3 as Miley Cyrus, as well as a live album from the Best of Both Worlds tour. In addition to the insane amount of music she performed, and filming everything Hannah, she also starred in Bolt and The Last Song during her time on Disney.
In her social media series promoting her song “Used to be Young,” Cyrus touches on the stress she was put under at such a young age because of the role. Breaking down the average schedule she had from week to week, she joking said that “this girl deserves a little endless summer vacation,” a reference to her latest album titled Endless Summer Vacation.
Throughout the series, Cyrus touches on many moments of controversy throughout her career. She recognizes a lot of the controversy stemmed from the fact she was known as a teen-friendly pop star and people wanted her to stay in that box, even as she grew up. Discussing the infamous 2008 Vanity Fair cover, Cyrus said “This image of me is the complete opposite of the bubblegum pop star that I had been known for being. And that’s what was so upsetting.”
Even though she started in the business at a young age, Cyrus has yet to slow down her success. At the 2024 Grammys, Cyrus took home not only her first Grammy award for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Flowers,” but a second one for Record of the Year for the same song.