Following his 1993 marriage to Tish Cyrus, the country crooner adopted her two children, Brandi, 37, and Trace, 35. The two went on to have three children of their own during their nearly 30-year union: Miley, 32, Braison, 30, and Noah, 25. Billy Ray has a son, Christopher Cody, 32, from his relationship with Kristen Luckey before he and Tish met one another. Of his six children, most have followed in his musical footsteps even Miley and Noah have received Grammy nominations.
In April 2022, Billy Ray and Tish announced their divorce in a joint statement to PEOPLE. They said in a press release, “After 30 years, five wonderful children, and a lifetime of memories, we have decided to go our separate ways – not out of sadness, but out of love in our hearts. We have grown up together, raised a family we can be so proud of, and it’s now time to create our own paths.”
They said, “We will always be family and look forward to a continued and loving shared experience as friends and parents.”
Billy Ray, on his part, announced his engagement to Australian singer Firerose some months after the divorce in November 2022. The two met on the sets of Hannah Montana and had been close friends since then. Billy Ray proposed to Firerose in August 2022.
The Achy Broken Heart singer tells PEOPLE that his family holds “no hard feelings” about his engagement. “Everybody knew that that relationship was over a long time ago,” he said of his marriage to Tish. “Everybody’s turning the page.”
Tish, meanwhile, is now engaged to actor Dominic Purcell.
Here’s a closer look at Billy Ray Cyrus’ six kids.
Brandi Cyrus, 37
Brandi Cyrus was born on May 26, 1987, to Tish Cyrus and her then-husband, Baxter Neal Helson. Six years later, when Tish married Billy Ray Cyrus, he adopted Brandi.
Brandi developed a love for horseback riding at an early age and credits Billy Ray for nurturing her love of equestrianism. In January 2021, she shared with the World Equestrian Center, “I have been riding horses since I was 6 years old. I was very fortunate that, when my dad got his record deal in the early 90s, he took his money and bought a ton of land in Tennessee, so I grew up on a horse farm. My dad put me on a horse and just said, ‘Have at it.’ It was a hold-on-and-figure-it-out kind of thing, and I spent almost every day riding on the property with him.”
Aside from being an equestrian, Brandi is also a DJ, co-hosts two podcasts called Your Favorite Things Podcast and Sorry We’re Stoned, and owns a style blog entitled Style Native.
Trace Cyrus, 35
Trace Cyrus was born on February 24, 1989, to Tish Cyrus and Baxter Neal Helson. Just like Brandi, Trace was adopted by Billy Ray when he married Tish in 1993.
Trace rose to fame as a Metro Station lead guitarist, and that band was known for their 2007 hit “Shake It.” As far as his personal life, Trace once was engaged to the actress Brenda Song, but they broke things off in 2012. In 2018, Trace announced that he was now engaged to Taylor Lauren Sanders. However, Ippolito announced their breakup in 2020 on Instagram, writing, “Some of you might already know, but I’m recently single & super grateful to have my fam with me thru this time.”
Trace remains busy with music and even performed backup when his little sister Noah was on stage in October 2022.
However, in August 2023, Trace expressed that being part of the Cyrus family may have impacted his career. “I love my family so much, but I think I’d be much more successful if I weren’t part of a famous family,” he wrote during a Q&A session on Instagram Stories. “People immediately want to judge me and discredit all my hard work because of who I’m related to.”
He also spoke of his early success with Metro Station being away from any influence his family had. “I got a record deal without anyone from my label even knowing who I was related to ’til after they signed me,” he said.
Christopher Cody Cyrus, 32
Christopher Cody Cyrus was born on April 8, 1992, to Billy Ray Cyrus and his ex-girlfriend, Kristin Luckey.
Miley Ray Cyrus, 32
Miley Cyrus was born on November 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee, to Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus. She gained fame when she played the characters of Hannah Montana and Miley Stewart during the Disney Channel series starring with her father from 2006 until 2011.
As it neared the show’s milestone, in reflections, Miley took to her Twitter in 2020 and wrote, “My life changed forever when HM premiered.” In addition, Miley tweeted thanks to the ‘Hannah Montana’ devoted following: “Because of your loyalty and support, I’ve had the honor to travel the world for over a decade performing for fans that bring so much greatness into my life.”
Other than Hannah Montana, Miley has appeared in several other productions, such as Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), The Last Song (2010), and LOL (2012). She also was a judge for seasons 11 and 13 of The Voice.
Not less impressive is the music career of Miley, which brought her two Grammy nominations: Best Pop Vocal Album in 2015 and Album of the Year in 2022. Her hit songs include “Party in the U.S.A.,” “The Climb,” “Wrecking Ball,” and “Slide Away.”
In September 2020, Miley spoke about her complicated relationship with her dad, labeling him as the “best” and “worst” dad. She said, “That’s the kind of dad my dad is. He sets you up for failure and disappointment, but I like that about him because he made me tough.”
A few months later, though, she spoke only of happy memories of Billy Ray. Appearing on Good Morning Football back in December 2020, Miley revealed, “My favorite thing to do when I go home is we go and we throw the ball around outside on my dad’s farm, and some of my greatest memories are playing football with my dad.”
She continued, “He’s an artist now, and I’m an artist – we think of ourselves as athletes [with] constant dedication and training. And I think that athleticism inculcated a sense of dedication in me that I’m thankful for.”
Her personal life has been tabloid fodder, too. She was in an on-and-off relationship for ten years with her The Last Song co-star, Liam Hemsworth. They got married in December 2018 and parted ways in the following year. They obtained their divorce papers in 2020.
Braison Cyrus, 30
Braison Cyrus was born on May 9, 1994. Like many of his family members, he also involved himself in music and released his debut album, Javelina, in 2021.
In November 2019, Braison married Stella McBride, and the couple welcomed their first child, Bear Chance, in June 2021. Braison announced Bear’s arrival via Instagram, writing, “Bear Chance Cyrus was born June 8th, 2021, at 10:05 PM. He is 9 lbs and 22 inches of pure joy. God poured every bit of his mercy, tenderness, beauty, and strength into Bear and @stellamcyrus during her herculean feat of birthing him.”
He said, “I’m so grateful that he and his mom are healthy and couldn’t be more impressed by her strength and bravery. I am beyond grateful to the staff at the hospital and to our friends and family for offering us encouragement and support. God is so good. Hallelujah.”
Noah Cyrus, 25
Noxon Noah Cyrus, Billy Ray’s youngest child, was born January 8, 2000, in Nashville. As a young girl, she appeared a half dozen times on good sister Miley’s show, Hannah Montana, alongside her dad. In 2007 Billy Ray told PEOPLE “If she wants to be an actress, I think she’s got the chops to do it. She’s [pretty] much a little natural.”
Now 25, Noah has forged a career in music that included a 2021 Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. She said she had always tried to go into the industry independently even with her family’s fame. In an interview back in 2022, she reflected, “I definitely would like to say that I did create my own way into the music business. I think I did it very independently in a way, like where I don’t think people actually expected that, but that was something that was very important to me.”
In 2022, Noah collaborated with her father on the single “Noah (Stand Still).” After the song dropped, the two took to social media to praise one another. Billy Ray shared, “So proud of @ noahcyrus. You wrote a great song and delivered a killer performance. Honored to join you on this poignant track.”
Noah responded, “The honor is mine, Daddy!!! So grateful to share this track I wrote about you, Pappy, and Papaw Cyrus. You’re my hero and inspiration. I love you.”
In March 2021, they were guests on Spotify’s For the Record podcast. Billy Ray said of Noah’s foray into music: “You were a horse rider; you rode horses, and that was your thing. And then all of a sudden you started making music,” he said. “And I go, ‘She’s serious about it!’ And you started dedicating yourself to writing the best songs you could write and being the best musician you could be.”
He added, “And I’m sitting there going, ‘That’s my Noie! That’s my Noie! Look at her! The dream is happening.'”
Noah celebrated turning 23 years old on January 9, 2022, in an Instagram post that featured photos from a trip to Joshua Tree, California. The photos showed her having fun with friends and her daring style, including some shots of her posing on boulders.
In June 2023, Noah announced that she was engaged to fashion designer Pinkus. She took to Instagram to share the news, saying, “The greatest moment of my entire life was saying ‘yes’ to spending the rest of ours together. I never thought I would ever meet a man like you or someone so selfless and filled with so much love to give. You’re the least judgmental human being I’ve ever met. The most talented, the most loyal, the kindest person. I’ve never felt more loved or in love.”