A scion of music royalty who became a global superstar in her own right, Miley Cyrus was born Destiny Hope Cyrus in Franklin, Tennessee in 1992, the daughter of  country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and goddaughter of Nashville legend Dolly Parton.

She got her start in the mid-2000s Disney sitcom Hannah Montana, but quickly moved out of the show’s pre-teen demographic with hits like “Party in the USA,” and the country-pop ballad “The Climb.” In 2013, she released her breakthrough album Bangerz, which combined hip-hop, pop, country and dance-pop and featured “We Won’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball,” the latter a chart–topping smash with a video that highlighted her attention-grabbing exhibitionist side. Cyrus’ music has gone from the psychedelic experimentation of 2015’s Mliey Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (a collaboration with the alt-rockers the Flaming Lips), to the rootsy introspect of 2017 LP Younger Now to the eclectic 2023 high-point Endless Summer Vacation, which contained the hit breakup ballad “Flowers.”

Over the years, she has embraced causes like marijuana legalization and LGBTQ rights, and has appeared in several movies and TV shows (including Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Mirror). In 2021, began hosting the NBC holiday special Miley’s New Years Eve Party.— Jon Dolan