June 2006 By Philip Berk
At her press conference Miley Cyrus is wearing Tory Birch black riding flat boots. 7 for mankind light denim wash jeans, a white tank top by American Apparel, and silver hoop earrings by Juicy Couture.
It’s so refreshing, I tell her, to meet someone like her. She’s so natural, so unaffected, so real.
Were you ever asked to modulate your voice, or told if you want to be a big star you have to do this or that?
“When I first moved to L.A., no one could understand a thing I said. You would think I was speaking a different language. So I think at first my accent was an issue, and the lower voice was an issue, because they thought I needed to be more girlie. But there are a thousand actresses out there, and you didn’t find many of them with a husky voice at ten or with a hard core accent. That’s what made me unique, and I thought it was a cool thing. And if I had to change it for the business I wouldn’t be me. So I didn’t.”
Good for you! I tell her/
Where does that self confidence come from?
“It’s hard for me to explain, but knowing that what you have no one else has or that no one is exactly like you, it makes you feel really unique.”
Don’t you ever feel vulnerable?
“There are some things that make me feel uncomfortable, like when I answer the phone and people think it’s my 17 year old brother.”
If you were not an entertainer, what would you like to be?
“I would love to work behind the cameras, maybe direct. I would love to be a photographer.”
She’s known to have many dogs. Exactly how many and does have a favorite?
“I have six; we live on 500 acres. I don’t want to say favorite but the one I’m soo in love with at the moment is my new dog Sophie; she’s a Malti-Poo. She’s adorable. I take her with me everywhere.”
Do you write (your songs) on a piano or a guitar?
“On the guitar because I play a guitar but I’m learning piano.”
Have you gotten over the controversy regarding Vanity Fair’s (exploitive) Annie Leibovitz pictures?
“I think everyone is kind of moving away from it. I am not ashamed of it, and I am not scared to talk about it because it is just another part of growing up, and I think it’s a good learning experience.”
What is your future with Hannah Montana. There was talk you’d be leaving the show?
“The producers agree that as I grow the character will have to grow. A lot of people were a little scared of that, but there is nothing to be afraid of. It’s just something we need to do to keep things interesting. I’d like to be like Madonna, she gets to reinvent herself, and that’s something i could do with my character. So we’re trying to change it and make it fun.”
And you’ll stay with the show?
“Oh yeah for sure. We’re in production right now.”
Are you as close to your mother as you are to your dad?
“I change my mind every day whether I am a daddy’s girl or a mommy’s girl. It depends who’s on my side that day. But I never want to think of my dad as someone i just work with. I love being around him. He makes me laugh all the time. My mom grounds me for stuff, but I always feel better for it, and I’m becoming a better person by just watching her.”
What music do you like, what TV shows, what are your favorite movies?
“My favorite movie — this is really lame — I started a collection this year, and my best friend and I are working on who can get the most Disney animated movies. I also love cartoons, they’re my favorite. TV? I really like reality shows, I’m a reality show girl.”
And music?
“I’m into weird music. My favorite artist is Johnny Cash, not exactly what normal kids listen to. I also love the Killers, that’s normal I guess.”
And web sites?
“I don’t really like to get on the web that much.”
How about a boyfriend. Is there anyone in your life?
“No one right at the moment. But if there’s a dude I’m into, I keep it low key otherwise you can ruin a relationship.”
What do you have on your bedside table?
“A picture of my granddad, a thing of roses from one of my friends”
What does she most like to shop for?
“Shoes. I like shoes a lot. Tory Burch are the ones I have on. But my favorite shoes to buy? I probably have every color known to man of Converse. That’s my one thing I really like to buy.”
You’re not one of the Sex and the City girls then?
“No I like flat boobs.”
How do you reconcile your dad’s image as a sex symbol and your relationship with the squeaky clean Jonas Brothers?
“Those words do not go together,” she laughs. “It’s just so weird. They definitely have a clean image, but I think they’re stepping away from that more and more because that’s the way people think of guys in the industry. Any guy that can play a guitar is immediately attractive. My dad plays guitar and wears cut offs and tight jeans. People make assumptions about him. They have tried to do the same to me, but I want to be known more for my acting and my singing rather than just being like whatever you said he was.”
Do you also believe in no sex before marriage?
“I have my own philosophies, but I wear a Purity Ring, so yes I believe in it. It’s just the way you handle things. It’s more than just the rules that you give yourself. It’s the way you treat people and for me I always want to treat people with the highest respect. And that’s what I learned from my dad, and that’s why he’ll continue to be someone that will be around for years because when he walks in a room he makes people feel like a million bucks. It’s not about him; it’s about everyone else in the room.’
Sorry Miley for breaking your achy breaky dad’s heart by calling him a sex symbol!