If you are a fan of country music, particularly in America, then the Cyrus family is no stranger to you. From Miley Cyrus to Billy Ray Cyrus, the Cyrus family have entrenched themselves as one of the leading music families in the country. Billy Ray, father of Miley Cyrus is the father of the modern Cyrus family and both he and his daughter are accomplished music stars who have sold a combined over 50 million albums worldwide.
Billy Ray Cyrus has been singing professionally since 1989 and has released over 15 albums as well as several singles. He is also an actor and a songwriter. Learn all about who he is below and how many children he has.
Who is Billy Ray Cyrus?
Billy Ray Cyrus was born on the 25th of August, 1961 in Flatwoods, Kentucky to parents Ron Cyrus, a former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives and Ruth Ann Casto. His parents were not together for a very long time, as they got divorced when Billy was five years old. A year before his parents got separated, Billy began to sing, and he continued to college where he eventually dropped out to pursue a career as a musician. He had attended Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship.
The beginning of Billy Ray Cyrus’ career was with a band, Sly Dog, with whom he performed in the early ’80s. He was with the band before he signed a record contract with Mercury Nashville Records. Having achieved his goal of becoming a professional musician within 10-months of dropping out of college, he began working on his first solo album, during which he made his first major concert appearance by opening for Reba McEntire.
His debut album, Some Gave All was released in 1992. The country album was an instant success as it debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, Billboard 200, Canadian Albums Chart and Canadian Country Albums chart. It was a dream start to his professional career and he hasn’t relented ever since. The album itself sold over 20 million copies worldwide, with its leading single, Achy Breaky Heart transforming Billy Ray Cyrus into an international star.
Since then, he has released several more albums, most of which were successful, both critically and commercially. He has sold over 30 million copies of his albums and singles worldwide. Some of his most popular songs apart from Achy Breaky Heart, In the Heart of a Woman, Somebody New and a couple more others. Most recently, he featured on the popular hit, Old Town Road with Lil Nas X. The song was top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for nineteen consecutive weeks.
Aside from his music, Billy Ray Cyrus has had a career as an actor, with over 39 credits to his name, including popular titles like Mulholland Drive, Doc, The Spy Next Door, Hannah Montana and Still the King.
His successful career has earned him a myriad of awards as a musician, an actor and a humanitarian. He has received major awards from the Country Music Association Awards, American Music Awards, and the Billboard Music Awards. He has also been nominated four times for a Grammy Award. So far, he has won over 40 awards from over 65 nominations.
How Many Kids Does He Have?
Apart from his music and acting career, another major cause of Billy Ray Cyrus’ fame is his children, a couple of which are also members of the music industry and have found considerable success. Meanwhile, Billy Ray has been married twice but has had children outside his marital life to have a total of six kids.
His first two children, Christopher Cody (born in April 1992) and Miley Cyrus (November 1992) were from two different relationships with Kristin Luckey and Leticia Finley, respectively. He eventually got married to Leticia Finley and fathered two more children with her – Braison Chance who was born in 1994 and Noah Lindsey Cyrus who was born in 2000. Both Miley and Noah Lindsey have followed in Billy’s footsteps as a musician and an actor.
He adopted two children from Leticia Finley’s previous relationships – a daughter, Brandi Cyrus and a son Trace Cyrus who were born in 1987 and 1989, respectively. Both of them are equally in show business with Brandi as an actor and Trace as a singer/guitarist for the band, Metro Station.
Although both Billy Ray Cyrus and Leticia ‘Tish’ Finley have filed for divorce thrice, they have remained together. The family lives in Thompson’s Station in Tennessee and Los Angeles.
