Miley Cyrus' connections make star quality

Although her singing talent and bold fashion statements have kept her in the spotlight, Miley Cyrus was able to get her start as an actress due to her celebrity father, Billy Ray Cyrus^[1], and his various Hollywood connections. Her family was supportive of her desire to become a child actress and landed her debut role on her father’s television series Doc^[2]. Had it not been for Billy Ray, Miley's dream of being an actress would likely not have been fulfilled so quickly and so easily. Music-wise, Cyrus received plenty of guidance from her godmother Dolly Parton^[1]; like Billy Ray, had already achieved international fame as a country singer, and had thus established plenty of connections that could aid Miley in her quest for fame. Miley's signing with Jason Morey of Morey Management Group, done under Parton’s direction^[3], helped to kickstart Cyrus’ career as a musician. When Cyrus expressed a desire to take part in more professional acting roles after the success of her Disney show Hannah Montana, her mother/co-manager Tish Cyrus used the connections her daughter had formed as a teen pop star to help her do just that^[4]. In fact, Tish contacted author Nicholas Sparks directly to have him write a story and role specifically for her daughter, which later developed into the 2010 film "The Last Song". Cyrus even had a say in how her character was written^[4]. It was Cyrus' established stardom - brought about with the help of her father, Dolly Parton, and their various connections - that led to career-defining opportunities such as these whenever she wanted them.