Billy Ray Cyrus

Billy Ray Cyrus is a country singer and actor, who is also the father of the actress Miley Cyrus.   He was born in 1961 In Kentucky, and his father Ron was a former steelworker who was involved in politics.  Billy’s family were into gospel music, and he dropped out of Georgetown College, to start his career as a musician.   In the 1980s he struggled to get a break in the music business, but finally by 1990 he got a record contract and was opening for Reba McEntire.  His first album was released in 1992, and was sympathetic to the military, called “Some Gave All”.  But his major hit was “Achy Breaky Heart” a lively dance song which popularised line dancing… 

He began to get small acting parts, in shows like the Nanny, the Love Boat and others and was in a stage version of Annie Get your Gun...

He was married during the 1980s to Cindy Smith, who was his co-writer on some songs but their marriage ended in divorce.  He had 2 children in the early 1990s from relationships with 2 different women.  He married Letitica “Tish” Finley, who was an actress and the mother of his daughter Miley…  They had two more children Braison and Noah and he adopted Tish’s other children.

They lived for some time near Nashville Tennessee but moved to California when Miley became the star of Hannah Montana, a children’s show in which her father also acted. He has had a brilliantly successful career….with TV appearances and numerous successful albums...and directed a  rather sentimental but charming TV movie set in the South called "Christmas in Canaann...."