• Faith: Christian
• Career: Musician
• Birthday:  August 25, 1961

Billy Ray Cyrus is a songwriter, country singer, and actor. Having released 53 singles and 16 studio albums since 1992, Cyrus is known for his hit single “Achy Breaky Heart,” which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and became the first single ever to achieve triple platinum status in Australia. It was also the best-selling single in the same country in 1992. Due to the song’s music video, the line dance rose in popularity. As a multi-platinum-selling artist, Cyrus has scored a total of eight top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. His most successful album to date is his debut, “Some Gave All,” which has been certified nine times multi-platinum in the U.S. and is the longest time spent by a debut artist and by a country artist.

“Some Gave All” was also the first debut album to enter at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The album has also sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling debut album of all time for a solo male artist. It was also the best-selling album of 1992 in the U.S., with 4,832,000 copies. During his career, Cyrus released 36 charted singles, of which 17 charted in the top 40. In 2019, Cyrus earned his first number-one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as a featured artist on a remix of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” which spent a record-breaking 19 consecutive weeks at the top spot. It also spent a record-breaking 20 consecutive weeks at the top spot on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Billboard Hot Rap Songs.

The R&B/Hip-Hop record was broken in May 2023 by SZA’s “Kill Bill.” Thanks to “Old Town Road,” Cyrus won his first two Grammys in the categories Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video. From 2001 to 2004, Cyrus starred in the TV show “Doc,” a show about a country doctor who moved from Montana to New York City. From 2006 to 2001, he co-starred in the Disney series "Hannah Montana” with his daughter Miley Cyrus in the role of the titular character’s fictional father, Robby Ray Stewart, a clear reference to his real name. From 2016 to 2017, he starred as Vernon Brownmule on the CMT sitcom “Still the King.” Cyrus was born in 1961 in Flatwoods, Kentucky, to Ron and Ruth Ann Cyrus. He started singing at the age of four. In 1966, his parents divorced.

Cyrus attended Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship before changing to music. During his junior year, he dropped out and realized he wanted to become a musician after attending a Neil Diamond concert and set a 10-month goal to start a career. In the 1980s, he played in a band called Sly Dog before signing a record contract with Mercury Nashville Records. The band was named after a one-eyed dog that Cyrus owned.

What religion is Billy Ray Cyrus?

Cyrus was raised in a Christian family, as his grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. Growing up, he was surrounded by gospel and bluegrass musicians. After the singles from “Southern Rain” finished their chart runs, Cyrus recorded two Christian albums. Both albums, “Time Flies” and “The Other Side,” were released in 2003.