This year’s 14 Disney Legends honorees also include actors Angela Bassett, Miley Cyrus and Harrison Ford; actress and host Kelly Ripa; filmmakers James L. Brooks, James Cameron and Frank Oz; composer John Williams; Disney costumer Colleen Atwood; tour guide-turned manager/producer Martha Blanding; comics artist and writer Steve Ditko; animator Mark Henn; and theme park designer Joe Rohde.
Miley Cyrus, The singer rose to fame playing Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel series which first aired in 2006 when she was 13
In an emotional speech at fan convention D23 on Sunday, Miley said she was “still proud to have been Hannah Montana”.
She won her first Grammy earlier this year for Flowers, which was recognised as 2023’s record of the year and spent 10 weeks at number one in the UK.
Lainey Wilson took the stage to introduce Cyrus, performing her own lively rendition of the “Hannah Montana” classic “The Best of Both Worlds.” After the song, she told the singer, “Miley, I want to thank you for never being afraid to step outside the box, always staying true to yourself, and most importantly, always kicking butt.”
“I’m gonna let everybody get on a little Disney Legend secret. I’m the one that tells you what you’re not supposed to know. And what I want to say, is that legends get scared, too. I’m scared right now, but the difference is we do it anyway, and all of you can do that every single day. It’s legendary to be afraid and do it anyway. There is no such thing as failure when you try,” Cyrus said as she wiped away tears.