How Miley Cyrus managed to avoid ‘child-star syndrome’ during ‘Hannah Montana’ years

We’ve all heard the sad stories of the struggles that former child stars have endured: being robbed of their money by greedy family members, drug and alcohol addiction, mental health problems and — as the 2024 docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV exposed — actual abuse at the hands of the adults in charge. But Miley Cyrus didn’t have to deal with that, despite her Hannah Montana fame, and in her Variety cover story, she explains why.

First, there was the money issue. As the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, who was already a hugely successful country star, Miley wasn’t responsible for paying bills in her family. “My parents didn’t need me to be famous to survive or to be stable,” she tells Variety.

“What happens to a lot of these kids is their parents want it more than they do, or the kids become responsible for the entire income of the family. That was never my job. Every penny I ever made went into my bank account because my parents were good.” 

Then, there was the fact that Billy Ray co-starred with her on Hannah Montana, playing her dad. As Variety notes, his dressing room was connected to Miley’s, and between them, there was an office where Miley’s grandmother managed her fan club. The presence of family, Miley says, kept her safe.

“My dad was on set every single day, so there was nothing that could happen that he wouldn’t know about,” she explains. “There was never a time where I was going to be alone in that dressing room.” 

And while Miley has had experiences with drugs and alcohol, she never went to rehab and became sober on her own. 

“My life is so beautiful. It never feels like I’m swimming upstream anymore,” she tells Variety.