Miley Cyrus on Wednesday shared a fan letter she penned to her former alter ego Hannah Montana, the titular star of the TV series that premiered exactly 15 years ago.
“In reality there was a time in my life when you held more of my identity in your glovette than I did in my bare hands,” wrote Cyrus, now 28. “We had an equal exchange in which you provided a superlative amount of fame in return for the anonymity I could gift to you.”
The series followed the adventures of teen Miley Stewart, who had a secret life as pop star Hannah Montana, disguised only by a blonde wig.
Miley Cyrus, pictured in 2009. Julien M. Hekimian / Getty Images
In the letter, Cyrus reflected on her four-season run on the show – and shared at least one particularly ill-timed rite of passage. She also made it clear she remains very fond of Montana.
“You have all my love + upmost gratitude,” the singer told her ex-character. “Breathing life into you for those 6 years was an honour.”
Cyrus also thanked her family, her team and everyone who worked on the series.
“Not a day goes by I forget where I came from,” she added. “A building in Burbank, California with a room full of people with the power to fulfill my destiny. And that they did. They gave me you. The greatest gift a girl could ask for.
“I love you Hannah Montana.”
Dear @HannahMontana, I still love you 15 years later. #HMForever pic.twitter.com/TBqZd5aOKh
— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) March 24, 2021
The official Hannah Montana account retweeted Cyrus and captioned it: “Nice to hear from you @MileyCyrus. It’s only been a decade” – a reference to the series finale in January 2011.
Cyrus was a young girl when she lived in Toronto, where her father Billy Ray Cyrus filmed the series Doc. After watching a performance of Mamma Mia! at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Cyrus told her father she had been bitten by the acting bug. This lead to singing and acting lessons at Toronto’s Armstrong Acting Studio.
Hannah Montana was her first TV role after a handful of guest appearances on Doc.