Country music star Billy Ray Cyrus is a big believer in God's plan—in the divine destiny and hope that are part of His grand design. Fitting, then, that he and his wife would name their daughter Destiny Hope.

Today, that name seems almost prophetic in view of the Cyrus family saga. Following in her father's successful footsteps, Destiny Hope—better known by her nickname, "Miley"—has become quite the phenom herself, starring as the title character in the Emmy-nominated Disney Channel hit series Hannah Montana. The 15-year-old sensation is now about to wrap up a hugely popular 54-city concert tour.

Billy Ray, who plays Hannah's dad on the TV show, says his daughter's success is all "part of God's plan" for Miley, so nicknamed because she was always "smiley" as a young child.

There's much to smile about in the Cyrus household these days, not just because of the show's huge success, but also because of the uncanny father/daughter parallels—all a part of God's plan, if you ask them both.

Following Dad's footsteps
Billy Ray Cyrus burst onto the music scene in 1992, selling 14 million copies of his debut album Some Gave All, propelled by the album's mega-hit single "Achy Breaky Heart." With his first album at number one for 17 weeks, he continues to hold the record for a debut artist. He has since released nine albums, including his latest, Home at Last; starred on the PAX-TV series Doc; and enthralled audiences on ABC's popular Dancing With The Stars show in 2007, making it to the eighth week of competition as one of the series' final top five celebrity contestants.

Mirroring her father's overnight success, Miley's Hannah Montana has become an instant smash hit. The series premiere scored record ratings for the Disney Channel with a whopping 5.4 million viewers. It was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Children's Program category. And Miley herself was named Favorite Actress in both the Kids' Choice and Teen Choice awards in 2007.

On the show, she plays Miley Stewart, a typical high school kid with a not-so-typical secret dual identity—pop star Hannah Montana. Like her dad, Miley's debut Hannah Montana CD made history in 2006 as the first TV soundtrack to enter the Billboard chart at number one. She followed in 2007 with a two-disc set, Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus, which soared to number one in its first release week, making her the youngest recording artist ever to have two number one albums in less than a year. And last fall, she was in the news when tickets to her 54-city "Best of Both Worlds" concert tour were quickly gobbled up by brokers and scalpers and then sold at greatly inflated prices—mostly to mothers who had promised their young daughters a ticket to the show.

Becoming Hannah
After Billy ended his stint on Doc in 2004, he vowed never to do another television series. The show filmed for weeks at a time in Toronto, leading to difficult separations from wife, Tish, his six children, and the family farm near Nashville.

"But you know the old joke, the best way to make God laugh is tell Him your plans? God had something else in store for us," Billy now says. "Not only did Doc's 88 episodes give me a wealth of experience as an actor, Miley did several appearances on the show and [being in Toronto] allowed her to take lessons with some great [acting] coaches. What that did was prepare Miley for her big chance."

Her acting appetite whetted, Miley began to seek out other roles. Her dad says she was told she was "too young" the first time she auditioned for Hannah Montana.

"But as I read the script, I knew it wasn't going to proceed without Miley. It was just one of those inner voice things you feel inside," he explains. "Six or eight months later, Disney calls back and says, 'We'd like to take another look at that Cyrus kid,' and she flew back out to California."

Somewhere in the auditioning process, Billy's name came up as a possibility to play Hannah's dad.

"When the agent called, I said, 'This is Miley's thing,'" Billy says. "'I don't want Miley ever to look back and say I got the job, or didn't get the job, because of my dad. So the first decision is, is Miley Hannah Montana? Then we can talk about me later.' The day they hired Miley, they called me, and I got on a plane that night. Miley and I did a few scenes together, and they hired me. The rest is history."

"The best job in the world!"
Miley, who turned 15 in November, says she's always loved acting and performing. "There's nothing like being on a set where you are there to make other people happy and make them laugh. It's the best job in the world!"

She adds, "Sometimes it gets frustrating to have a camera on you all the time, because if you do something embarrassing or make a mistake, everyone knows about it. Sometimes my friends will call and tease me about something they saw, and I just have to laugh and say, 'Thanks guys, I love you too!'"

A typical teen, she loves talking on the phone with friends, as well as writing music, playing guitar, and singing and dancing. The Cyrus family has relocated to California but kept their sprawling Tennessee farm, to which they retreat during those rare times when things slow down.

Leaving Tennessee was bittersweet, inspiring Billy to co-write what would become the first single released from his latest CD, a tune called "Ready, Set, Don't Go." One line of the song says, "She says things are falling in place/feels like they're falling apart."

He explains, "This was a great thing for our entire family and a great opportunity. But we were quite comfortable at our farm and our kids were comfortable with their school. As Miley was leaving with the family, I reached that pivotal crossroad every parent knows will come someday—realizing my kid is growing up and I gotta let 'em leave the nest and fly."

He adds, "We also had a great church, and when you give up your church, your pastor, and the community you are involved in, you're making a big sacrifice. Let's face it, Hollywood is a completely different environment than Franklin, Tennessee."

By all accounts, Miley is a level-headed young lady. Her parents work hard to keep their daughter's life as normal as possible.

Miley says, "Faith is a big part of my life. I recently read a book titled Girl Talk With God about a teen girl's conversations with God, and I feel that I'm here in Hollywood because of faith and God's will."

A great relationship
Billy Ray says he models his parenting style on his relationship with his dad, Ron, who passed away in 2006 after a battle with cancer.

"Being Christian, we believe in heaven," he says. "At times it's hard not to say, 'Oh, I wish my dad was here to see this.' I feel like he's so proud of Miley, the way she's handling everything and the great little human being she has become. There's a lot of my dad's personality in her. My dad was a great people person, and I believe Miley inherited that trait from my dad because she's fantastic with people."

Billy Ray says his relationship with his daughter is something special.

"I've always tried to be my kids' best friend, and so far, so good," he says. "With Miley, I'm her daddy, but I'm also her friend. That's what my dad was [to me], and it worked pretty good."

"My family and I are very close," Miley says. "We fight back and forth just like all families, but I feel like I can tell my parents anything. When my dad and I come home from work, we forget that we work together and just hang out. We have a great relationship."

Miley says her dad's own experience with stardom has helped her deal with the success of Hannah Montana.

"He always tells me, 'If you ain't having fun, it ain't working,'" she says. "He's taught me it's important to have a good time and enjoy what you're doing, but that you also need to take time for yourself. Both my parents have always told me it's easier to come down than it is to go up."

Although Billy thought the show would be a hit, he admits, "I didn't really expect it to be this humongous! Nobody could ever predict what this show has done; it's exploded worldwide. Most importantly what I've been able to share with Miley is to have fun. True, it's a big business, there are a lot of big players and a lot of stuff going on, but [I tell her], 'Don't take it so seriously that you miss out on the greatest time of your life.'"

After Miley wraps up her concert tour in January, she looks forward to continuing to act and perform. Billy says his CD title Home At Last says it all.

"I am at peace with my life—past, present and future," he says. "I know all things that are good come from Almighty God above. I count my blessings every single day. Every day I pray God will show me the doors He wants me to walk through, the people He wants me to talk to, the songs He wants me to sing. I want to be the light He wants me to be in this world."

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