--- description: Cyrus shares with Marie Claire the experience of playing a teen superstar title: Miley Cyrus Says Playing Hannah Montana Caused Body Dysmorphia image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt112d581eb75510c2/69885f43a988caad036b3e6b/miley-cyrus.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Miley Cyrus Says Playing Hannah Montana Caused Body Dysmorphia by [Lynette Rice / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Lynette Rice / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 14, 2015 1:52 PM CUT  Miley Cyrus at the 'China: Through The Looking Glass' Costume Institute Benefit Gala in New York City on May 4, 2015. Miley Cyrus at the 'China: Through The Looking Glass' Costume Institute Benefit Gala in New York City on May 4, 2015.George Pimentel—WireImage/Getty Images by [Lynette Rice / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Lynette Rice / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 14, 2015 1:52 PM CUT Playing a teen superstar who lived a double life wasn’t all that for Miley Cyrus. The pop star told [_Marie Claire_](http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/news/a15514/miley-cyrus-marie-claire-september-cover/ "undefined") that her years of working on the Disney Channel show _Hannah Montana_ gave her a false sense of what a young woman is supposed to look like. “I was made to look like someone that I wasn’t, which probably caused some body dysmorphia because I had been made pretty every day for so long, and then when I wasn’t on that show, it was like, Who the f— am I?” she told the magazine. Cyrus also recalled the requisite uniform she’d have to don to play the popular character from 2006 to 2011\. “From the time I was 11, it was, ‘You’re a pop star! That means you have to be blonde, and you have to have long hair, and you have to put on some glittery tight thing.’ Meanwhile, I’m this fragile little girl playing a 16-year-old in a wig and a ton of makeup. It was like _Toddlers & Tiaras_. I had f—ing flippers.” The hours on the show were so long and grueling that Cyrus’ mom considered whether to bring in lights to help treat her daughter’s seasonal affective disorder, the magazine reports. “Every morning, I was getting coffee jammed down my throat to wake me up,” said Cyrus, 22\. “I just had to keep going, be tough, be strong. Everything happened to me on that set.” The Cyrus cover story for _Marie Claire_ hits newstands Aug. 18. _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/14/miley-cyrus-hannah-montana-marie-claire "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com "undefined") _Read next:_ [_Miley Cyrus Is the Perfect Host for the Video Music Awards_](http://time.com/3965794/miley-cyrus-mtv-vmas-vma-video-music-awards/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day_](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ### See the Evolution of Miley Cyrus  Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus on Oct. 8, 1994 at Pyramid Arena in Memphis. Ron Galella, Ltd.—WireImage/Getty Images  Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus in New York City on Feb. 9, 2006. Paul Hawthorne—Getty Images  Vanessa Hudgens and Miley Cyrus in Los Angeles on Apr. 30, 2006. Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images  Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus at the 41st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 23, 2006. Kevin Winter—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus in Westwood, Calif., on July 17, 2006. Vince Bucci—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana on Nov. 2, 2008. Disney  Miley Cyrus in New York City on Oct. 23, 2006. Peter Kramer—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus and Ashley Tisdale on MTV's TRL in New York City on June 20, 2006. Michael Loccisano—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs as Hannah Montana in Uniondale, N.Y., on Dec. 27, 2007. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 2008. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton in an episode of Disney's Hannah Montana on Dec. 7, 2007. Disney/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus celebrates her 16th birthday during the 2008 American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 23, 2008. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift perform onstage at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2009. John Shearer—WireImage/Getty Images  Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus in the 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie. Disney  Tish, Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2009. NBC/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, 2010. Larry Busacca—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs onstage during the 2009 Teen Choice Awards held at Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif., on Aug. 9, 2009. Kevin Winter—Fox/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus and Sheryl Crow on stage at Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City on Sept. 17, 2009. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs at the 21st Annual MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto on June 20, 2010. George Pimentel—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus at the 2009 VH1 Divas in New York City on Sept. 17, 2009. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber perform at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Aug. 31, 2010. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs on an episode of ABC's Dancing with the Stars on May 2010. Adam Larkey—ABC/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth in the 2010 film The Last Song. Touchstone Pictures  Miley and Tish Cyrus at The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 13, 2011. Lester Cohen—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus at the 2012 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2012. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images  Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles on Feb. 26, 2012. Christopher Polk—VF/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 20, 2012. Denise Truscello—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 6, 2012. Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs during 2012 VH1 Divas in Los Angeles on Dec. 16, 2012. Kevin Winter—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus poses with fans in London on July 18, 2013. Ben Pruchnie—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus at the Fashion Group International's 30th annual "Night Of Stars" awards gala in New York City on Oct. 22, 2013. Evan Agostini—Invision/AP  Miley Cyrus performs on NBC's Today show on Oct. 7, 2013 in New York City. NBC/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus dances at Compound Entertainment and Malibu Red Grammy Midnight Brunch at Bagatelle/STK in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, 2013. Johnny Nunez—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus attends the "PUNK: Chaos to Couture" Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 6, 2013. Stephen Lovekin—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus arrives at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 19, 2013. Jon Kopaloff—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus attends Rachel Zoe during Fall 2013 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center in New York City on Feb. 13, 2013. Jamie McCarthy—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus at the SiriusXM Studios in New York City on June 27, 2013. Slaven Vlasic—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City on Aug. 25, 2013. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus perform during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center in New York City on Aug. 25, 2013. Rick Diamond—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs at the 2013 American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 24, 2013. Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs at the Time Square's New Year's Eve 2014 ball drop celebration in New York City on Dec. 31, 2013. Steve Mack—FilmMagic/Getty Image  Miley Cyrus at the 56th annual Grammy Awards Pre-Grammy Gala in Los Angeles on Jan. 25, 2014. Jeffrey Mayer—WireImage/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs during Miley Cyrus: MTV Unplugged in Los Angeles on Jan. 28, 2014. Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on Aug. 1, 2014. Taylor Hill—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips perform in Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2014. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards in Inglewood, Calif., on Aug. 24, 2014. Mario Anzuoni—Reuters  Miley Cyrus and My Friend's Place representative Jesse Helt at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards in Inglewood, Calif., on Aug. 24, 2014. Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus walks with Jeremy Scott after a presentation of his Spring/Summer 2015 collection during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 10, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Miley Cyrus attends the "China: Through The Looking Glass" Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 4, 2015 . Dimitrios Kambouris—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles. Michael Tran—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Miley Cyrus hosts the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles. Michael Tran—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus performs on Saturday Night Live in New York City on Oct. 3, 2015. Dana Edelson—Getty Images  Honoree Miley Cyrus accepts the Vanguard Award at the Los Angeles LGBT Center 46th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards on Nov. 7, 2015 in Century City, Calif. Joe Scarnici—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus on The Voice on Feb. 4, 2016. 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