Miley Cyrus Becomes a Disney Legend: Here’s Why

Every two years, The Walt Disney Company inducts a new class of people as Disney Legends. This highly-coveted title is bestowed on individuals who have significantly impacted the company. Over the years, singers, songwriters, animators, Walt Disney Imagineers, and business leaders have been among the honorees. In 2024, the prestigious family of Disney Legends will grow with 14 new inductees. Among the names announced, one that surprised many was Miley Cyrus.

While Cyrus is a force in her own right, with smash hits like “Wrecking Ball” and the Grammy award-winning “Flowers,” she’s also making Disney history as the youngest honoree ever to be named a Disney Legend at just 31 years old.

“To be named a Disney Legend is the highest honor our company can bestow on anyone, reserved for those whose talent and achievement have earned them an enduring place in our history,” said Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, in a release. “The fourteen individuals to be honored as Disney Legends this year have each made extraordinary creative contributions across the worlds of Disney and we look forward to celebrating them at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.”

Flashback to 2006, when Cyrus debuted as Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel series of the same name. The four-season, 98-episode series drew in an average of 4.4 million viewers per episode. Even more impressive for a show geared towards kids and tweens is that a 2007 episode remains the highest-rated basic cable series telecast ever, with 10.7 million total viewers. Hannah Montana ended its run in 2011.

Following a successful first season, Cyrus headlined the Best of Both Worlds Tour in 2007, bringing in $54 million in ticket sales. In 2009, she starred in Hannah Montana: The Movie, where the song “The Climb” debuted. The movie raked in a total of $155.5 million.

Even more noteworthy, her fans have literally grown up with her. When she started playing Hannah Montana in 2006, Cyrus was 13 years old, the same age as many of the kids watching the show.

“I think I’ve had in a way, this amazing gift that my audience grew up with me. It’s very different than the relationship I have with the public, or the press or the media and their perception of me. But it’s really stayed grounded in the really unique relationship that I have with my fans and with my audience because a lot of us were the same age. The people that watched my show were my same age,” said Cyrus in a Forbes cover interview video.

Her legacy with Disney, especially with a show popular with kids, is unmatched. In fact, the dual reality of being both Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus worked for her and for Disney. In a 2010 story from Business Insider, it was reported that Cyrus had made Disney $1 billion since the launch of Hannah Montana in 2006. When she was ready, she left Disney Channel and the Miley Cyrus persona behind on the show set in 2011, evolving into a new version of herself that wasn’t as clean-cut as her Disney character.

In an interview with W Magazine, Cyrus commented on the Disney Legends Ceremony set for Sunday, August 11, 2024, at the D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, saying, “It’s a place to celebrate the journey of both being on and graduating from Disney.”

Miley Cyrus undeniably fits the bill as someone who has impacted Disney in countless ways, even if it was initially as a child star. And in a Legends class filled with notable names like John Williams, Angela Bassett, and Joe Rohde, Cyrus continues to push the boundaries, much like Disney itself. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Cyrus is now both a Grammy winner and a Disney Legend, proving she’s truly getting the best of both worlds.

Source: Forbes, Business Insider, W Magazine