Billy Ray Cyrus Biography (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Billy Ray Cyrus (born William Ray Cyrus, August 25, 1961) is a Grammy Award-nominated American country singer-songwriter and actor, best known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart". A multi-platinum selling recording artist, he has eight top-ten singles on the Billboard country music charts. From 2001 to 2004, he starred in the television series Doc, a show about a rural doctor adjusting from his move from a ranch to a large city. As of 2006, he is co-starring in the Disney Channel original television series, Hannah Montana, which stars his daughter Miley Cyrus.

In Cyrus' career, he has released 28 charting singles, 13 of which reached the top 40 and one reached the top of Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. After a four year hiatus from the charts, Cyrus returned with his current single, a duet with his daughter Miley, "Ready, Set, Don't Go", which peaked at #4 in early 2008, this was Billy Ray's first time in the Top 5 in nearly 10 years.

Biography

Early life

Cyrus was born in Flatwoods, Kentucky, the son of Ron Cyrus, a politician, and his wife, the former Ruth Ann Adkins. His grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. Cyrus later went to college at Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship before switching his focus to music.

Music career

While trying to get a record deal in Los Angeles, Cyrus was signed to Mercury Records. He began recording music for his debut album, Some Gave All, released in 1992. The album sold over 9 million copies. Part of the album's success can be attributed to Cyrus's #1 single, "Achy Breaky Heart". Some Gave All debuted atop both the Top Country Albums and the Billboard 200, staying at No.1 for 34 and 17 weeks, respectively.

Many critics proclaim Cyrus as a one-hit wonder, "Achy Breaky Heart" being his only Billboard No.1 single, but he's also had several Top 10 singles.

In 1993, Cyrus returned with It Won't Be the Last, which debuted at #1 and went Platinum in the US. The album featured the Top 5 single, "In the Heart of a Woman", which peaked at #3.

Storm in the Heartland was released in '94, and went Gold. Although the only successful single was the title track, the album featured two more singles, both failed to meet Cyrus's hopeful expectations.

Several other albums followed, Trail of Tears (1996), Shot Full of Love (1998), Southern Rain (2000), Time Flies (2003), The Other Side (2003), Wanna Be Your Joe (2006), and Home at Last (2007). Cyrus is beginning to record his follow-up to Home at Last on Walt Disney Records.

He also sang "The Star Spangled Banner" at Game 5 of the 2006 World Series in St. Louis, Missouri.

Acting career

Cyrus starred in the 1999 independent film Radical Jack. He also had a small part in David Lynch's 2001 film Mulholland Drive as Gene, a pool cleaner who had been having an affair with the wife of Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux). In 2001, Cyrus played the lead role on the PAX (now ION Television) comedy-drama Doc, which became the network's highest-rated show. In 2005, Cyrus expanded his acting career in a stage production of Annie Get Your Gun in Toronto, appearing in the role of Frank Butler.

Cyrus' television credits include The Nanny, Diagnosis Murder, Love Boat, The Next Wave, and TNN"s 18 Wheels Of Justice. In 2004, he guest-starred as a limo driver in the episode "The Power of Love" of the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. Cyrus has also been the subject of many television specials that detail his rise to fame and his career. These include two ABC documentaries, Dreams Come True and A Year On The Road, a VH1 exclusive, as well as the TNN specials I Give My Heart To You, and The Life and Times of Billy Ray Cyrus. In late 2005, Cyrus and his daughter Miley began co-starring in the Disney Channel original television series, Hannah Montanawhich premiered on March 24, 2006.

In March 2007, Cyrus joined several other celebrities to take part in the fourth season of the US version of Dancing with the Stars. He and his partner Karina Smirnoff, were eliminated in the eighth week (May 8, 2007) after having also placed in the "bottom two" the week before.

In 2007, Cyrus filmed the music video for his latest hit, Ready, Set, Don't Go. He dedicated this song to Miley. The video showed pictures from Hannah Montana along with others.

Marriage and children

From 1986 until 1991, Cyrus was married to Cindy Smith, with whom he co-wrote the song Wher'm I Gonna Live?, which was featured on his 1992 album Some Gave All. On December 28 1992, he married Leticia "Tish" Finley,. Together they have three children, daughters Miley Ray (born as Destiny Hope), Noah Lindsey, and son Braison Chance. He also has two stepchildren, Trace (singer/guitarist for Metro Station) and Brandi, and a son from a previous relationship, Christopher Cody.

In a 2004 interview on ABC News: 'Primetime', Cyrus stated that daughter Miley (conceived with Finley) and son Cody (conceived with an unidentified woman) were both born in 1992, at which time Cyrus was unmarried, and that he and Finley secretly married on December 28 of 1992.

The family lived on a farm in Thompson's Station, outside of Nashville, Tennessee before moving to Los Angeles for the filming of Hannah Montana.

Awards

In addition to several music awards from various organizations, Cyrus also holds awards from charitable work.

In 1999, Cyrus received the International Entertainment Buyer Association"s "Humanitarian of the Year" Award for his philanthropic work. His charitable efforts have been recognized by the Country Radio Broadcasters, who honored him with their Artist Humanitarian Award, and by the Kennedy Center Honors, which recognized him for his work with children. He also received the first ever Bob Hope Congressional Medal of Honor Society Entertainer"s Award for his dedication to philanthropy.

Billy Ray has been nominated in the Tearjerker Video of the Year for "Ready, Set, Don't Go" in 2008. The nomination is from the 2008 CMT Music Awards. In the category, artists such as Kenny Chesney and Reba McEntire are also nominated.

Year	Association	Award
1998	TNN/Music City News	Album of the Year - for Shot Full of Love
	TNN/Music City News	Male Artist of the Year
	TNN/Music City News	Single of the Year - for "Busy Man"
	TNN/Music City News	Video of the Year - for "Busy Man"
1997	TNN/Music City News	Single of the Year - "It's All the Same to Me"
1993	American Music Awards	Favorite New Artist
1993	American Music Awards	Favorite Single - for "Achy Breaky Heart"
1992	CMA Awards	Single of the Year - for "Achy Breaky Heart"

Discography

See Billy Ray Cyrus discography for more information

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Radical Jack	Jack
2001	Doc	Dr. Clint Cassidy	Television series from 2001–2004
2001	Mulholland Drive	Gene
2002	Wish You Were Dead	Dean Longo
2004	Death and Texas	Spoade Perkins
	Elvis Has Left the Building	Hank
	Degrassi: The Next Generation	Limo Driver Duke	Season 3 Finale
2006	Hannah Montana	Robby Stewart	Television series from 2006–present
2007	Billy Ray Cyrus... Home at Last	Himself	Reality show
2007	Dancing with the Stars	Himself
2008	Bait Shop	Hot Rod Johnson	with Bill Engvall
	Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert	Himself	Concert film.
	CMT Music Awards	Himself	Host with Miley Cyrus
	Nashville Star	Himself	TV Host
2009	Hannah Montana: The Movie	Robby Stewart

Billy Ray Cyrus