Miley Cyrus has been famous since she was born, because of her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus. In the pop star’s new Hulu special Endless Summer Vacation: Continued (Backyard Sessions), she talked about growing up with a massive country star father and how their relationship to fame has changed throughout her life.
The former Disney Channel star is the eldest child of Billy Ray, 62, and ex-wife Tish Cyrus, with whom Billy Ray had son Trace and daughter Brandi from a prior relationship and whom Billy Ray adopted and often joined her parents on road.
In reference to Billy Ray’s breakout single “Achy Breaky Heart,” Miley stated, “When I was born, my dad had the No. 1 country song.” Of course, she has afterwards enjoyed a number of hits. She added, “When I see the numbers, I just see the humans behind it enjoying the music, and I just see people in numbers. A number doesn’t change who I am.”
She then revealed what it was like to be raised by Billy Ray, 62, and his ex-wife Tish when her dad first became famous, which resulted in a very different life than he was used to as a child.
Miley said, “My dad grew up the opposite of me. I grew up on a soundstage, like, in a house with a family that was super close and all lived under the same roof, and I grew up financially stable and emotionally stable, I think, in my relationships also.” Shea added, “That’s something that my dad didn’t have.”
After witnessing others around her go from “having nothing to having everything,” the pop star defined the experience, which rings Billy Ray’s life, as a “really dangerous place.”
“I think that’s where me and my dad’s relationship to fame and success is wildly different,” said Miley in the special. “Him feeling loved by a big audience impacted him emotionally more than it ever could me. When he feels special or important, it’s like healing a childhood wound, and I’ve always been made to feel like a star. It makes me emotional, so I think that’s the difference.”