Miley Cyrus is no stranger to a beauty transformation—her breakout role in Hannah Montana centered around one. The child actress burst onto the scene playing just an ordinary, brunette-haired girl by day and golden-blonde mega pop star by night. And she took Hannah’s best of both worlds mantra and turned it into a best of all worlds beauty philosophy.
In fact, the singer-songwriter can’t stop switching up her appearance. Over the years, her iconic performances have left jaws on the floor, from the 2009 Teen Choice Awards to the 2013 MTV Music Awards and the 2024 Grammys, among many others, as she has stepped out with stark glam to match. Cyrus has tried every shade of blonde from icy to honey, dabbled in auburn, and returned to her deep-brown roots. Not to mention, it seems like there isn’t a crop she hasn’t tried, from a flippy short mullet to a tousled rocker shag and a quirky jellyfish haircut.
The “Malibu” singer’s career has seen her masterfully transition from pop to country to rock, with each era defined by a signature look. Cyrus has proved there is indeed a smoky eye for every occasion; your body is a beautiful canvas for artful patchwork tattoos; and, just as her godmother Dolly Parton taught her, bigger is better. In sum, Cyrus is a hair chameleon and modern beauty icon. See ahead for her beauty evolution in 18 looks.
Caramel Curls
Getty Images
While Cyrus has been in the spotlight since the day she was born, thanks to her dad Billy Ray Cyrus’s country music career, she didn’t rise to superstardom until 2006 with her breakthrough role in Hannah Montana. At 14 years old, the fresh-faced beauty often wore her brunette locks down in bouncy curls. As her tresses caught the light, gorgeous caramel undertones could be seen.
Pop Princess Blonde
Getty Images
We’d be remiss to not include Hannah Montana’s iconic wig, which featured full fringe and a gorgeous blend of light brunette and golden blonde. Cyrus had the best of both worlds from 2006-2011, switching between her natural chestnut-brown and creamy blonde.
Long Coils
Getty Images
By the time the 2008 MTV Awards rolled around, Cyrus had been acquainted with the public eye for a couple years. She zhuzhed up her natural brown hair with a few sunny-blonde highlights. Her hair had also noticeably grown a few inches, which she wore in long tights spirals and with a middle part. She also began to dabble more in makeup, wearing light glam composed of a glossy lip and eyeliner.
Lots of Texture
Getty Images
Cyrus’s collection of iconic performances dates all the way back to the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, when she infamously performed “Party in the U.S.A.” while dancing with a pole attached to an ice cream cart. For the occasion, she wore pretty, rosy glam and a feathered fedora over her brunette waves, which had plenty of voluminous texture.
Beachy Blonde
Getty Images
“The Climb” hitmaker’s first big hair transformation came in 2010, when she swapped her luscious dark hair for beachy blonde waves. Cyrus’s California sun-kissed tresses had plenty of dimension, which she wore with a middle part. This era also gave way to darker, smokier eye makeup looks.
Country Girl Auburn
Getty Images
Cyrus’s first blonde spurt was short-lived, as she switched things up again in 2011 with a gorgeous ginger hue. She styled the auburn shade with loose curls once again. The color was the perfect complement to her bronzy glow, which she played up with toasty bronzer and a coral-pink lip.
Platinum Pixie
Getty Images
Talk about statement-making. The Last Song actress cut all of her hair off in 2012, debuting an icy-blonde pixie with long bangs. The chop was the beginning of a long, edgy short-hair era for the multi-hyphenate.
Space Buns
Getty Images
Cyrus gave yet another jaw-dropping performance, this time at the 2013 MTV Awards. She joined Robin Thicke onstage to sing a divisive mashup of her hit “We Can’t Stop” and his song “Blurred Lines.” Let’s just say, the raunchy performance left viewers with a lot to talk about, including her playful space buns. Cyrus styled her buzzed undercut with two tight knots on top of her head. Her glam was just as bold, composed of a bright firetruck-red lip, strong brows, and dewy skin.
Tousled Lob
Getty Images
Cyrus grew out her undercut for her debut coaching season on The Voice in 2016. She was still rocking bleached golden blonde and dark, grown-out roots, but this time she styled her long bob in tousled beachy waves for a laidback vibe. If her hot-pink suit dress and matching jewelry is any indication, Cyrus was in her neon phase, and it carried over to her beauty, with electric-blue eyeshadow and bright strawberry-pink lips.
Sleek Creamy Blonde
Getty Images
Leading into her second season of the competition series, the “Wrecking Ball” hitmaker continued to grow her locks down to a medium length. While keeping her brunette roots, Cyrus opted for a blend of warm and cool-tone blondes, which she styled straight and sleek with a side part. As for glam, she swapped statement-making hues for a bronzy glow via toasted-brown eyeshadow and sun-kissed cheeks.
Old Money Curls
Getty Images
Cyrus’s hair-growth journey stretched into 2018, as did her creamy, silky blend of blondes. Although this time, she channeled The Great Gatsby with an Old Hollywood look composed of shiny, bouncy curls and a classic red lip.
Long Shag
Getty Images
Full-on rocker Miley was heating up in 2019, and she leaned in with a long shag. Cyrus switched things up with a vanilla-blonde and root smudge for some low-maintenance color, plus full fringe and shaggy, wet-looking waves. A heavy, smoked-out wing and blurred makeup made her look stage-ready.
Grungy Mullet
Getty Images
With the arrival of her seventh studio album, Plastic Hearts, in 2020, Cyrus proved she was ready to rock. And what better way to mark the era than with the ultimate metal hairstyle: the mullet. After seven years of lengthening her locks, the singer went with another big chop—a cool, cropped, shaggy mullet with long bangs. Her smoky eyes and winged eyeliner only got more dramatic and glittery—the perfect complements to her raspy powerhouse vocals and leather-on-leather outfits.
The Bigger the Better
Getty Images
The LOL star took a page out of Parton’s book, whose unofficial mantra was go big or go home. Cyrus added lots of va-va-voom volume to her 2021 look with a layered shag, full bangs, and airy curls. She didn’t stop there; in the “9 to 5” singer’s likeness, she swiped on lots of powder-blue eyeshadow and coral-colored lip gloss.
High Contrast
Getty Images
Can’t choose between blonde and brunette? Don’t. Cyrus didn’t. The multi-hyphenate marked 2023 with yet another bold beauty look, this time a high-contrast, two-tone dye-job of icy-white blonde and deep, reddish-brown. She sported neutral base makeup and another daring smoky eye.
To the Sky
Getty Images
Cyrus’s appearance at the 67th Annual Grammys Awards in 2024 is memorable for a number of reasons: her electric performance of “Flowers” that doubled as a Tina Turner tribute; her four glittery, figure-hugging outfit changes; her first (and second) ever Grammy wins; and, of course, her larger-than-life hair. Once again channeling Parton, Cyrus brought the bouffant back to the red carpet with caramel-highlighted, chestnut-colored locks styled with huge curls and to-the-sky volume. She let her locks shine by opting for a subtle smoky eye and clear lip gloss.
The Jellyfish
Getty Images
The “Jaded” singer has made a habit of displaying major beauty changes at the Grammys, and she never shies away from an experimental hair look. The 2025 ceremony was no different when she stepped out with a popular ’70s chop, the hime cut. Of course, Cyrus gave it a modern update (along with Lady Gaga and Billie EIlish) in what has been penned the “jellyfish haircut,” consisting of full fringe, a blunt, cheek-grazing top layer, and a longer bottom layer. She also debuted her lightest shade of brunette in over a decade: a cinnamon-brown with butter-blonde highlights. A burnt-orange smoky eye, inky-black cat eye, chiseled cheek bones, and peachy-pink lip completed her quirky glam.
Bleached Brows
Getty Images
Just three months into 2025, Cyrus figured one tremendous beauty transformation wasn’t enough, so she debuted two. In March, she tapped into the Gen Z-loved trend of bleached brows. But faint arches wasn’t the only thing she had in store, she also chopped her fringe to micro-length for a captivating look that added lots of intrigue to her back-grazing ponytail.
