Miley Cyrus Takes Home Disney’s Biggest Honor

Former Disney Channel darling Miley Cyrus recently accepted a special award alongside 82-year-old Indiana Jones icon Harrison Ford.

It seems that 2024 is Cyrus’ year. Over the weekend, Cyrus became the youngest person to be named a Disney Legend. At 31 years old, Cyrus, a first-time Grammy award winner earlier this year, spoke to the crowd at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California.

“I’m gonna let everybody get in on a little Disney Legend secret. I’m the one that tells you what you’re not supposed to know. And what I want to say is that legends get scared too,” the ex-Disney star told the audience. “I’m scared right now, but the difference is we do it anyway, and all of you can do that every single day. It’s legendary to be afraid and do it anyway. There is no such thing as failure when you try. That’s the only way you lose.”

The awards ceremony also honored actress Jamie Lee Curtis as a Disney Legend for her role in the hit movie Freaky Friday. Icon Ford was also awarded the title of Disney Legend for his work in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.

In 2006, Disney Channel launched a new teen sitcom centered around Cyrus’s character, Hannah Montana. Then-14-year-old Cyrus was working under the guidance of her father, country superstar Billy Ray Cyrus. The plot line spoke to the young Disney demographic ages 6 to 14 and followed Cyrus’ character as a normal kid in school, but one who also has a secret identity as pop singer Hannah Montana.

The show lasted four seasons and became one of Disney Channel’s most commercially successful franchises, bringing in a ratings average of 4.5 million viewers each season. Hannah Montana was not only nominated for each season it aired, but also claimed many awards. Spin-offs and merchandise followed the show’s success, producing a concert film and a feature film in 2009. Further, soundtrack albums and concert tours came next, and Cyrus quickly solidified as a pop superstar in real life.

Her solo career put Cyrus on the charts with the hit song ‘The Climb’ which was featured in the Hannah Montana movie. The soundtrack helped make Cyrus the youngest artist in history to have four number-one albums on the Billboard 200 at 16. Controversy came later as Cyrus matured and became interested in separating herself from the squeaky-clean Disney image, saying, “I can’t base my career off of the six-year-olds.” Cyrus was criticized for twerking while wearing a bikini as she performed on stage at the 2013 MTV VMAs with Robin Thicke.

The Parents Television Council bashed the performance, stating that parents would no longer feel comfortable allowing their children to watch Hannah Montana after seeing Cyrus’ “sexualized stage persona.” Her 2013 album Bangerz featured the number-one hit Wrecking Ball. More recently, in 2023, Cyrus released her 8th studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, with the song Flowers, which spent 8 weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.