Born Destiny Hope Cyrus, in November 23, 1992. Miley Cyrus is the daughter of 1990s country star Billy Ray Cyrus. Her parents nicknamed her "Smiley", which they later shortened to "Miley", because she often smiled as an infant, and her middle name (Ray) honors her grandfather, Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus. She attended Heritage Elementary School in Williamson County while she and her family lived in Thompson's Station, Tennessee (United States). When she was cast in Hannah Montana, the family moved to Los Angeles and she attended Options for Youth Charter Schools studying with a private tutor on set. Raised as a Christian, she was baptized in a Southern Baptist church before moving to Hollywood in 2005. She attended church regularly while growing up and wore a purity ring. In 2001, when Miley Cyrus was eight, she and her family moved to Toronto, Canada, while her father filmed the television series Doc. After her father Billy Ray Cyrus took her to see a 2001 Mirvish production of Mamma Mia! at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Miley Cyrus grabbed his arm and told him, "This is what I want to do, daddy. I want to be an actress.” Then, she began to take singing and acting lessons at the Armstrong Acting Studio in Toronto.
Miley Cyrus's first acting role was as Kylie in her father's television series Doc. In 2003, she received credit under her birth name for her role as "Young Ruthie" in Tim Burton's Big Fish. During this period she auditioned with Taylor Lautner for the feature film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. Although she was one of two finalists for the role, but she chose to appear in Hannah Montana instead. Miley Cyrus auditioned for the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana when she was thirteen years old. She auditioned for the role of the title character's best friend, but was called to audition for the lead role instead. Despite being denied the part at first because she was "too small and too young" for the role, she was later cast as the lead because of her singing and acting abilities. The series premiered in March 2006 to the largest audience for a Disney Channel program and quickly ranked among the highest-rated series on basic cable. The success of the series led to Cyrus being labeled a "teen idol”. Since then, Miley Cyrus has released eight albums and starred in numerous films.