Miley Cyrus’ Shocking Earnings from Hannah Montana Revealed After She Claimed She Was the ‘Least Paid Person’ on the Show—’People Take Advantage of a Child’
People think that being an actor always translates to being rich. But when you get your start as a kid on a Disney show, is that really the case? Miley Cyrus made her name with Hannah Montana and then went on to bigger things. But even though these days she’s no longer synonymous with the role that catapulted her into stardom, there’s a great deal of interest in her time there.
With the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special now on Disney+, we look back at the role and how much money Miley Cyrus made on it.
Related: Who has Miley Cyrus dated?
How Much Did Miley Cyrus Make from Hannah Montana?
Not as much as you think! Though Cyrus pulled double duty as both Hannah Montana and Miley Stewart on the show, she wasn’t paid all that much. According to author Ashley Spencer’s new book, Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Tween Empire, she reportedly made $8,000 per episode for the first season of the Disney Channel show.
Ironically, the other two finalists for the role, Taylor Momsen and Daniella Monet, would have likely been paid more had they gotten the role. The book claims that since they had “significant past credits,” they would have been paid “$10,000 per episode.” By that time, Momsen had already appeared as Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Monet had recurring roles on American Dreams and 8 Simple Rules.
Cyrus, on the other hand, had only appeared on three episodes of Doc and played a young Ruthie in Big Fish before she auditioned for the role that made her a star. Ironically, she reportedly also auditioned for The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3D, but turned it down in favor of Hannah Montana.
By the time the show ended in 2011, Cyrus was reportedly making $15,000 per episode. And she was making significantly more per concert, around $75,000. No wonder she went all-in on her music career after that.
These days, Cyrus’ net worth is reported to be around $160 million.
On an Elle cover story in 2016, Cyrus talked about how much she was paid for the show. “I did not grow up spoiled in any way. I just wanted to be on TV. I mean, at one point—they’ll probably kill me for saying it—I was probably the least paid person on my cast because I didn’t know any better,” the actress said. “I was just like, ‘I can be on Disney! Yeah, I want to do it!'”
And she said the experience was complicated to navigate, for her and her parents. “My name was Miley on my show, but I didn’t own my name—we didn’t think about that. Like, ‘Yeah, you can use my name on your show, sure!’ My mom started understanding how many people take advantage of a child, so she hired smart people to protect me in that way. I’m happy that when I was younger, people protected me and put me in a position where I can now control my music.”
But Miley has always been proud of the experience. In March 2021, Cyrus wrote an open letter to the character that read, “Hannah, I hope you hear me and believe those words are true,” Cyrus wrote in part. “You have all my love and utmost gratitude. Breathing life into you for those six years was an honor. I am indebted not only to you, Hannah, but to any and everyone who believed in me from the beginning. You all have my loyalty and deepest appreciation until the end. With all sincerity, I say, thank you!”
