The Stunning Transformation Of Noah Cyrus
Noah Cyrus has always had a complicated relationship with fame. As the younger sister of someone as mega-famous as Miley Cyrus, Noah struggled to stand out, to forge her own path in an entertainment industry that seemed determined to compare her to her older sister. She hit out at gossip blogger Perez Hilton in an interview with Paper in 2019, fuming, "Perez knows I don't like him and he doesn't like me. He's treated me like s*** since I was a kid. He used to call Miley the 'Disney Channel W****.' F*** people like that, because it's people like that who made me how I am."
Then in an exasperated tweet from May 2020, Noah begged her fans to stop commenting on her looks. After all, rumors of plastic surgery had followed the singer for years, ever since she was younger, and she made it clear to her followers that she was over having her looks publicly critiqued — a problem which started when she was "probably younger than 12."
Noah has indeed experienced quite a stunning transformation since she first hit the scene as a repeat child guest star on "Hannah Montana." Her transformation hasn't just been a physical one, though, despite all of Noah's many tattoos. It's been a long journey toward self-acceptance, toward finding her place in a world that seemed determined to keep her down.
She was born into a famous family and had a tough childhood
Noah Cyrus was born a few days into the year 2000, the youngest child of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and his then-wife Tish. That makes her the sister of Miley Cyrus and Metro Station frontman Trace Cyrus, but in her early days — years after "Achy Breaky Heart" and before the Disney Channel came calling for Miley in the form of "Hannah Montana" — Noah was raised in Nashville.
As fame found various members of her family, Noah struggled on her own. "Something that really hurt me as a child was that I was stripped of my identity. I had no name, at all," she told iNews. Eventually the youngest Cyrus began getting recognized, too. "I had a really hard time being a part of a public family, and I struggled a bit with that, because it wasn't exactly my first choice," she would later tell Rolling Stone, remembering people coming up to her to ask if she was Miley Cyrus' sister. Sometimes, not wanting to deal with the attention, she would lie to people and claim to be unrelated.
Music became a fixation for the future singer. She particularly fell in love with emo music thanks to Trace, who has a controversial social media history. "As a kid, I'd listen to, you know, Metro Station, cause I was my brother's biggest fan and always wanted to be at their concerts," she told AXS TV. "I just kind of always was the type to keep to myself."
Noah Cyrus appeared on Hannah Montana with her dad and sister
Eventually — rather quickly — Noah Cyrus began dipping her toe in the family business. By 2007, she had appeared on several episodes of "Hannah Montana" alongside her dad and sister. She would play various small roles, including one credited as "Girl with Ice Cream." In an interview with People, Billy Ray Cyrus praised his youngest daughter's acting ability and said she'd have a career if she wants it. "If she wants to be an actress, I think she's got the chops to do it," he said. "She's pretty much a little natural." In 2009, Noah voiced the title character in the English dub of "Ponyo." Even though the cast included luminaries like Cate Blanchett and Liam Neeson, the pint-sized actor told Live For Films that it was actually her best friend she was most looking forward to working with. "I was excited working with Frankie Jonas," she said. Ah, nepotism!
Few people know that these early experiences with her own fame still affect the "Lonely" singer, more than a decade later. She told Paper in 2019 that online comments around this time were extremely unkind. "When I was little, I wasn't posting pictures of myself — those pictures were just on the internet because my family was my family," she recalled. "I read the comments about my face and things they would change about me. That made me grow to hate my face and my body."
In 2016, Noah Cyrus released her debut single
Even though Billy Ray Cyrus said his daughter Noah Cyrus had a future in acting, she moved into music instead. In 2016, still just a teenager, Noah dropped her debut single, "Make Me (Cry)." She told Paper that she'd been involved in music since she was a child learning how to harmonize with her famous father. When she struck out on her own, she realized she had a talent for songwriting. "Writing is the best way to get your mind clear. It's also a great way to explain your past or what you hope for the future," she ruminated.
"Make Me (Cry)" is a pop tune that features a guest spot from British artist Labrinth. Speaking with iHeart Radio in 2017, she said they got along great. "We are crazy. Like Labrinth and I were doing Yoga in the studio, he was standing on his head," Noah joked. Much of the song, she said, was written in a coffee shop near the studio. "We're just kind of crazy together, which I think was really cool." The song was a decent hit, peaking at #46 on the Billboard Hot 100. Noah Cyrus, musician in her own right, had arrived.
Noah Cyrus went viral for her awkward red-carpet photos with Lil Xan
In 2018, a few years into her solo career, Noah Cyrus attended the VMAs with her then-boyfriend Lil Xan. Their awkward red-carpet photos went massively viral on social media, because the tattooed rapper couldn't help but smush his nose right up against his girlfriend's neck in full view of the photographers. BuzzFeed, for example, rounded up "Literally Just 17 Memes Of Lil Xan Smelling Noah Cyrus's Face," including people who compared them to a dog running into a glass door, Taco Bell leftovers, and more. They dropped a song called "Live or Die" together the same day. On Facebook, Cyrus wrote, "... lets go mi amor!"
Unfortunately, the relationship was a doomed one. Mere weeks after their red-carpet debut, Lil Xan and Cyrus went their separate ways after a miscommunication over a faked nude photo of Charlie Puth. "I'm heartbroken and confused. This is the meme I sent Diego that made him think I'm cheating on him," Cyrus wrote on her Instagram Story (via CapitalFM), alongside an obviously-fake photo of the "Attention" singer with no clothes on. A few months later, Cyrus commented on a WorldStarHipHop Instagram post, writing, "My last relationship was the mistake, lmao."
Noah Cyrus apologized after accidentally being racist
In November 2020, Harry Styles set the fashion world alight when he posed on the cover of Vogue in a gender-bending look that paired a blazer with a long, flowy dress. Conservative commentator Candace Owens wasn't happy, taking to X, formerly Twitter, to criticize the One Direction singer. "There is no society that can survive without strong men," she wrote. "It is an outright attack. Bring back manly men."
Many celebs stepped up to defend Styles' experimentation. "I think you've missed the definition of what a man is," Elijah Wood tweeted in response, "masculinity alone does not make a man." Jameela Jamil, never one to shy away from calling someone out, wrote, "Harry Styles is plenty manly, because manly is whatever you want it to be, not what some insecure, toxic, woman-hating, homophobic d***heads decided it was hundreds of years ago."
While trying to stick up for Styles, Noah Cyrus unfortunately went a bit too far. On her Instagram Story (via TMZ), Cyrus wrote, "... better than any of u [sic] nappy a** heauxz." Cyrus was apparently unaware that "nappy" is a derogatory term related to the natural hairstyles of Black women, and fans quickly called her out on what seemed like a racially-motivated response to Owens. To her credit, Cyrus apologized profusely. "I am mortified that I used a term without knowing the context and history, but I know now and I am horrified and truly sorry," she said. "I will never use it again."
Noah Cyrus befriended country star Orville Peck during the pandemic
The pandemic was a tumultuous time for us all, but amid the chaos of COVID-19, people found new ways to connect. In Noah Cyrus' case, that meant a virtual concert, thrown by Diplo, within the Fortnite platform. She DM'd masked country singer Orville Peck, with whom she had shared the virtual stage, and the two struck up a fast friendship that would come to define the next few years of their lives. Cyrus was hard at work recording what would become her debut album, and advice from Peck made the record what it was.
In a conversation for AnOther Mag, both singers heaped praise on one another and acknowledged how much their relationship meant. "You help me understand myself better, and what I've gone through, because I can see it through your eyes," Cyrus told Peck. "Wow, we dove deep into our mental health. That year of coming out of Covid ... God. What 2020 was to both of us ... equally, the hardest years of our lives." She wished the "Drive Me Crazy" singer well, hoping, "We both have so much love to give to people. All I want is for both of us to be able to find real fulfilment and happiness." Peck, too, had some kind words for his friend. "Your capacity to love and care for other people is the most beautiful quality you have," he said, "even if sometimes you don't give enough to yourself."
Noah Cyrus is open about her experience with addiction
When Noah Cyrus was still a teenager, she began to experiment with drugs. She later told Rolling Stone that she first took Xanax with a boyfriend. "It became a way for us to bond," she reflected. "I think I wanted to fit in with him. I wanted to be what he wanted and what he thought was cool and what I thought everybody was doing." Unfortunately, Cyrus began to rely on the pills, using them as an escape as the world slipped into chaos thanks to COVID-19. In May 2020, Cyrus recorded an interview about an EP she'd released, and she couldn't hold up her end of the conversation. "I was completely nodding off and falling asleep, and unable to keep my head up or keep my eyes open, because I was so far gone," she recalled.
That was a wake-up call for the "I Got So High That I Saw Jesus" singer. As someone who once bristled against her famous family's connections, Cyrus turned to her father for help. She visited him in August of that year, she revealed on The Kelly Clarkson Show, unsure how to convey to him that she was struggling. "He had me take my shoes off and put my feet in the grass, and really get connected to home," she said. They relaxed into the moment, and it wound up being a memory Cyrus treasured as she committed to her recovery in the months ahead.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
The music industry took notice, and Noah Cyrus was nominated for a Grammy
In 2021, after years of putting in the work to get her singing career off the ground, Noah Cyrus got her biggest co-sign yet when she was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys. Technically, she hadn't even released a debut album yet; many loose singles and several EPs were enough to put her on the radar of the Recording Academy. The Grammys website defines eligible artists as those who "achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and impacted the musical landscape during the year's eligibility period." If that's the case, her EP "The End of Everything" would be the one that put her on the map.
Noah told Grammy.com that she was overwhelmed by the notion that people were finally paying attention. "It was just kind of like a moment of, 'They're listening,'" she said. "People are not just looking at you; they're hearing your words." Noah told the same website that she was honored to continue her family legacy in music, considering Billy Ray Cyrus' own Best New Artist nomination back in 1993. "It just felt full circle for Dad to be sitting there however many years later with his daughter — that he didn't even know would exist at that time — celebrating a Grammy nomination," she said. "I felt super emotional. My family always wants everyone else to win. We root for one another."
She finally released her debut album in 2022
Noah Cyrus didn't win Best New Artist at the 2021 Grammys; the award went to Megan Thee Stallion. The next year, even though she was no longer a "new artist" according to Grammy rules, Cyrus finally released her debut album. Unlike her early singles, which were very pop-heavy and sometimes leaned into hip-hop sounds, "The Hardest Part" is a singer-songwriter album that incorporates the sounds she grew up around in Nashville. Speaking with Forbes, Cyrus reflected on the musical transformation she'd undergone in these first years of her career. "I found myself and my sound in this album, and really, it was just going back home metaphorically," she explained.
The album reflected a vulnerability that may have surprised fans who only knew Cyrus from viral moments like her VMAs photos with Lil Xan. In the album's opening moments, she sang, "When I turned 20, I was overcome with the thought that I might not turn 21." Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard worked with Cyrus on the album, and he told Rolling Stone in 2022 that he was impressed with his collaborator's willingness to mine her struggle for songwriting. "It's easy to be mysterious. It's easy to be aloof. It's easy to be cool," he said. "It's so much harder to be earnest, and it's so much harder because she's really opening herself up with a lot of these songs."
In 2023, Noah Cyrus got engaged to a fashion designer named Pinkus
In 2023, Noah Cyrus announced on Instagram that she'd gotten engaged. She'd become a muse for fashion designer Pinkus, a man who designs clothing for a brand called COLORS. Cyrus modeled some out-there looks in Paris that January, according to the brand's Instagram, and when she walked a runway for him in June, Pinkus captioned another Instagram post, "Proudest fiancé."
The engagement announcement took the form of a close-up snapshot of her fancy ring. "The greatest moment of my entire life was saying 'yes' to spending the rest of ours together," she wrote in a since-deleted post (via People). "This past month of being your fiancé and being in our own little world of just us two has been so perfect and I wish I could never leave this time." The lengthy caption praised Pinkus for his openness and for his willingness to love Cyrus back, even despite all she'd been through. "Our life so far is a life I never thought I deserved or would live," she wrote. "I never thought I'd be looking forward to living as much as I look forward to living with you." Her entry into the world of high fashion marked a new era in Cyrus' career. In 2024, she walked for Avellano in a bleached-eyebrow wet look, sharing her love, gratitude, and praise for creative director Arthur Avellano on Instagram.
Family drama put Noah Cyrus back in the headlines
Even though she'd spent her entire career trying to make a name for herself separate from her famous family, Noah Cyrus found herself once more tied to her family's fate when a reported feud erupted between herself and her mother. Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus had a rocky relationship that led to a divorce in 2022. By August 2023, Tish re-married, getting hitched to "Prison Break" star Dominic Purcell. To the surprise of some fans, while Miley was there, Noah did not attend their mother's wedding.
Rumors swirled online, with fans discussing the potential cause of the apparent estrangement. In March 2024, a source spoke with Entertainment Tonight and claimed the reason for the rift was that Noah was originally the one in a relationship with Purcell. "Noah stopped seeing Dominic and Tish decided to pursue him and did not tell Noah," the source said. Furthermore, they claimed that Noah wasn't the one who chose to skip the wedding; in fact, they said, she hadn't even been invited. "... it was Tish who requested security at her wedding to keep Noah and Braison out," the source claimed. In April, Noah finally snapped back at a fan discussing the drama in her comments. After a fan wrote on Instagram, "Like that guy u [sic] and ur mom both have sexy time with?" (via People), Noah wrote back, " ... will you pleeeeeass just choke on the fattest c***." Enough said!