Destiny Hope Cyrus (born November 23, 1992)[1][2], better known by her stage name Miley Cyrus, is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is perhaps best known for starring as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel Original Series, Hannah Montana. As of March 2008, she is in the legal process of changing her given name to "Miley Ray Cyrus".[3][4][5][6] The next step in her name change process is a public hearing, due May 1, 2008.[7]

Cyrus became an overnight sensation after she was cast in Hannah Montana. Following the success of the show, in October 2006, a soundtrack CD was released in which she sang eight songs from the show. In December 2007, she was ranked #17 in the list of Forbes Top twenty earners under 25 with an annual earning of US$3.5 million.[8] As of December 2007, she is working on a movie spin-off from Hannah Montana, titled The Hannah Montana Movie which is due to be released late 2008 or early 2009.