Money Winners of 2007: Miley Cyrus finds fame in fictional alter-ego

Posted Dec 16th 2007 9:10AM by Sarah Gilbert
Filed under: Walt Disney (DIS)

Actress/singer Miley Cyrus You'd be surprised, given how few teenagers know who "Miley Cyrus" is, that the young woman is the hottest ticket "since the Beatles." Of course, that's because the 15-year-old daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus is known worldwide as the fictional "Hannah Montana," created for the Disney television show of that name.

That's right. The most famous pop singer under the age of 20 in the world doesn't even exist. Tickets to her, err, Hannah's concerts can be sold by scalpers for four to five times their face value, prompting parents of teens and 'tweens to compare her to the legendary rock acts of the 1960s.

On The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE: DIS) Hannah Montana television show, Miley plays Miley Stewart, a wanna-be ordinary teen with a secret identity as a pop star. Her own father plays her father on the show. Hannah Montana -- and Miley Cyrus -- were never supposed to be this big. Originally Miley auditioned for the best friend of her character, and the pop star wasn't to be named "Miley" until she got the part. What's more, Hannah Montana hadn't been envisioned as an actual concert act until the show proved to be so popular and young girls bought the Hannah Montana CD in droves this summer.

The Best of Both Worlds concert tour has been such a hot ticket that its organizers have added 14 more performances in January, and Cyrus is currently filming a movie spin-off of her television series. Her take this year? $3.5 million, landing her 17th on Forbes' "Top 20 earners under 25" list ... with 10 years still to go.

Be sure to check out more Money Winners of 2007.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-01-2008 @ 7:16PM

jennifer said...

I think miley is cool and I think she can sing and dance. I sing and dance as good as her to. well I don't think I sing better though but pretty dang close though.It would be really cool if I could talk to her.you rock miley.

rock on girl

12-14-2007 @ 6:46AM

igit said...

Can you believe this is the off spring of the "achey breaky heart dude"...please don't sing a song like daddy did.

12-14-2007 @ 7:42AM

katie said...

i love hannah montana ( miley cyrus ) but i think it was a rip off for those tickets that was ALOT of money and my friends are stop watching her show because of that

12-14-2007 @ 2:26PM

Belen said...

no kidding her tickets were damn well expensive shes just an actor who now is /singer i was going to take my kids to see her but after them prices i seen i was like no way, sorry but shes just a teenager, not elvis presley

12-22-2007 @ 7:28PM

amy said...

don't worry she'll be gone once hannah montana is over, she doesn't have the talent to last another ten years.

12-27-2007 @ 11:49AM

deaner said...

Are you all "teenie Boppers"? This girls got talent. She'll still be around 10 years from now and even 20, she has a great voice and personality. You go Miley. Mark my words, check back in 10 years, she'll be number 1 on the Top 10 Music Charts.