Miley Cyrus first rose to fame on our screens when she played the title role of Hannah Montana in the Disney TV series Hannah Montana. Since then, she has continued her fame by becoming one of the most iconic singers on the planet, which was always a given as her dad is Billy Ray Cyrus after all.
However, it wasn't having a famous father that led her to audition for the iconic Disney role. The inspiration behind Miley becoming Hannah Montana was down to a different star altogether. That star just so happens to be a fellow Disney child star, and it seems that the pair go way back.
Is Hannah Montana Based On Miley Cyrus?
Fans of Hannah Montana will be more than aware that the show was rather a family affair as her famous dad stars alongside her in it as, you guessed it, her famous dad. Plus, given that her name is also 'Miley' in the show, it would be easy for many to assume that the creators of the show had created it with Miley in mind for the lead role.
Miley has been more than open in the past that having a famous father has opened many doors for her, including having her first main TV role very early on in her career.
Given that already would have made her somewhat known within the industry, it would have been very easy for Disney to have an entire TV series somewhat centered around Miley.
Despite all of this, the series was never based on Miley's life, nor was the part specifically written for her. For starters, the main character's name was initially meant to be Chloe Stewart and was only changed when Miley Cyrus got the role.
Plus, Miley had initially auditioned for the role of Lilly, Miley's best friend in the show, but thankfully she never got that role and ended up playing the role of the title character instead, and it's safe to say that the rest is history.
Who Was Originally Supposed To Be Hannah Montana?
Given that the role of Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart wasn't initially written for Miley, it can be safely assumed that there would be quite a few girls who had auditioned for this iconic role. Not only that but there were also quite a few girls who are now famous who could have been seen on our screens as Hannah instead.
Some of these included Taylor Momsen (star of Gossip Girl and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas), Daniella Monet (from Victorious), singer JoJo, and sisters Aly and AJ Michalka, who are singers and actresses and were reportedly offered the roles of Hannah (Aly) and Lilly (AJ).
Of the group, it was JoJo who was Disney's first choice for the role of Hannah, however, she ended up turning the role down, and thankfully, her doing that introduced the world to Miley Cyrus and also gave a little insight into what her relationship with her dad is like.
Who Inspired Miley Cyrus To Audition For Hannah Montana?
Anyone who grew up in the era of the Disney Channel more than likely dreamed one day of having their own Disney show and being able to be the lead star with two 'sidekicks' causing a whole load of trouble (as a lot of the Disney Channel shows always seemed to pan out).
Regardless of whether they did dream of this or not, many who watched Hannah Montana as children will remember that it was Miley living a double life where during the day she would be a normal school girl, and at night she would transform into Hannah, put on her wig and become a famous pop star.
However, it turns out that the show could have looked entirely different if Miley hadn't been inspired to audition by one other Disney star who also had her own show around the same time. That person happened to be Hilary Duff, AKA, Lizzie McGuire.
Miley was joined on an Instagram live back in 2020 by Hilary and among other things, the pair discussed their lives in the spotlight. Miley happened to mention how Hilary had been the encouragement she needed to fly out to Los Angeles to audition for the role of Miley/Hannah.
As a young girl, Miley had gone to one of Hilary's concerts, and it was going there that made her want to have a career in show business, with Hilary being one of many who Miley has been inspired by. She ended up going to LA to audition and got the role.
Miley mentioned that at this point she wasn't doing all of this because it was what she wanted to do, she was doing it because it was what Hilary did, and, like most young people, Miley wanted to live the same life as her idol did. Clearly, this worked.
It also seems that Miley's appreciation for Hilary was reciprocated as she also said how she idolizes the Hannah Montana star. She said that she looks to Miley for inspiration on "how to be cool," which certainly would have been a surreal moment for Miley as not many people get to meet their idols, let alone have them tell them that they idolize them.
This likely means that fans of the show should be grateful to Hilary for inspiring Miley to audition for the show in the first place. Either way, it's almost always been a guarantee that she would one day become a star.
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