Billy Ray Cyrus Biography

Although best known for his single “Achy Breaky Heart,” Billy Ray is not simply a one-hit wonder. He has three #1 singles, six singles that reached the top ten, and currently stars in a successful television series with his daughter Miley.

Billy Ray Cyrus was born on August 25, 1961 in Flatwoods, Kentucky. This Southern boy was raised in a Pentecostal family. He originally wanted to become a professional baseball player, and was given a sports scholarship to attend Georgetown College. Music was Cyrus’s real passion though, and he quit school to form the short-lived band Sly Dog with his brother Kevin.

He moved to Los Angeles on his own, and soon got his lucky break when he was signed by Mercury Records in 1990, after scouts saw him opening at a concert for Reba McEntire. Some Gave All, Billy’s debut album, contained that catchy single “Achy Breaky Heart,” effectively making the singer a star. It also brought renewed interest in the trend of line dancing, one that some people would rather forget. Cyrus’s success allowed him to sing a duet with country icon Dolly Parton, and he was also invited to perform for Queen Elizabeth II. The performance never occurred, however, as Cyrus had to cancel for family reasons.

Although he released several more albums throughout the years, none of these had the same level of success as his first. They did, however, contain the #1 country hits “Could’ve Been Me,” “Busy Man” and “In the Heart of a Woman.” His single “We the People,” from his album Southern Rain, became the theme song in the presidential campaign of George W Bush.

Cyrus has also experienced his share of ridicule for his single, as well as his image.  Blender magazine named Billy’s biggest hit as the second worst song ever in 2004. At the peak of his popularity, Billy was also a target of country superstar Travis Tritt, who criticized both the singer’s image and singing style.

Aside from his musical career, Billy Ray has enjoyed success as a television actor. In 2001, he began starring in the television series Doc, which followed the life of a small town doctor who moved to the big city; the show ended in 2004. In 2006, he took on another starring role. This time it was in Hannah Montana, which airs on the Disney channel and stars Billy’s daughter, Miley Cyrus. The show’s initial season was met with positive reviews, and the second season is now in production.  

Billy Ray married Cindy Smith in 1987 and they divorced in 1991 never having had children. Cyrus went on to have a relationship with Kristen Lucky who gave birth to a son Christopher Cody in April 1992. Again the relationship ended.

Billy Ray soon found himself celebrating the birth of his first daughter with mother Leticia Anne Finley and the two followed this birth with their marriage in December 1992.  They now have two daughters, Destiny Hope, better known as Miley, and Noah Lindsey, as well as a son, Braison Chance.

Leticia also has a son and daughter from a previous relationship. The large and happy family lived on a sprawling farm in Tennessee, but recently moved to Los Angeles, where Billy was first discovered, in order for him to be closer to his and daughter, Miley, on the set of their successful series, Hannah Montana. 

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