Miley Cyrus is reflecting on her past as Hannah Montana. It has been 15 years since the "Wrecking Ball" singer slipped on a blonde wig to play the character in the hit Disney series and, in celebration of the show's anniversary, Cyrus shared some of her memories in a letter to Hannah Montana.
"Although you are considered to be an 'alter ego' in reality there was a time in my life when you held more of my identity in your glove than I did in my bare hands," she wrote in the letter shared to Twitter on Tuesday. "We had an equal exchange in which you provided a superlative amount of fame in return for the anonymity I could gift to you. But, ALOT has changed since then. You were like a rocket that flew me to the moon + never brought me back down."
Cyrus recalled auditioning for the role by recording herself singing "I Love Rock N Roll" in the kitchen of her mother's friend in Nashville. She did not anticipate just how famous the show would make her.
"You + I have been through it all together my friend. We've shared many firsts. Alot of lasts. Ups. Downs. Tears + laughs," Cyrus continued. "I lost my pappy my dads father while on set filming an early episode of Season 1. He wanted to hold on long enough to catch the premiere on March 24th."
Cyrus' grandfather, Ron Cyrus, passed away on Feb. 28, 2006. He worked as a steelworker for many years and as a result of working with asbestos, contracted mesothelioma — a rare form of cancer, according to Atlanta Injury Law News. He was able to see the commercial for "Hannah Montana" before passing away, which he told Cyrus was "one of the proudest moments" of his lifetime.
"My heart was broken but fulfilled to know I could carry his name beside my dads through every credit," the pop icon wrote.
Cyrus was 13 when she first appeared as Hannah Montana and 18 when the show finally came to an end. In her letter, she recalled falling in love and the changes her body was going through as a teen.
"I experienced falling in love for the first time in those years," she wrote. "Embarrassingly started my period in a pair of white capris of course on the day a "cute guy" was cast + asked to have lunch with me. Instead I spent it in the bathroom with my mom sobbing + scrambling to find a pair of fresh denim."
Cyrus went on to thank the character for how her life turned out.
"Hannah, I hope you hear me + believe those words are true. You have all my love + upmost gratitude. Breathing life into you for those 6 years was an honor. I am indebted not only to you Hannah but to any + everyone who believed in me from the beginning," she wrote.
"Not a day goes by I forget where I came from. A building in Burbank, California, with a room full of people with the power to fulfill my destiny. And that they did. They gave me you. The greatest gift a girl could ask for. I love you Hannah Montana," Cyrus concluded.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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