Miley Cyrus's Most Outrageous Moments

Now 18, see how the Disney star transformed from bubbly tween queen to an "untamed" pole-dancing siren
By Kiran Hefa
Updated November 19, 2010 04:00 PM

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UP IN SMOKE

Credit: TMZ

In a video taken five days after her 18th birthday, Miley Cyrus is seen taking a hit from a bong. But a source says the teen was actually smoking salvia, a legal substance in California that has hallucinogenic effects. "I'm having a little bit of a bad trip," she says in the video, "I want more of that s–."

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WHAT A TEASE!

Credit: Kevin Mazur/TCA 2008/Wireimage

Two years before her 18th birthday (Nov. 23), Miley Cyrus had a little fun on YouTube, posting a video of herself and then-BFF Mandy Jiroux spoofing Disney pals Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. Though the video stirred rumors of a teen queen feud in 2008, Gomez later said, "It's all good!"

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PAYBACK TRACK

Fresh off her 2007 split with "first love" Nick Jonas, Cyrus debuts her angry breakup anthem, "7 Things", in which she calls out an ex's vanity, game-playing and insecurity. "Most of my songs are for the girls who hate their current or ex-boyfriends," she explained.

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(UN)COVERING UP

Days after flashing her bra in a series of "silly, inappropriate shots," Cyrus faced more photo controversy when a semi-topless image of the 15-year-old star appears in Vanity Fair's June 2008 issue. "I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic,'" Cyrus told PEOPLE, "and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed."

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DATING UP

Credit: StarzLife

In 2008, the 15-year-old teen queen raised eyebrows when she began dating 20-year-old model Justin Gaston, but the age difference didn't bother Cyrus's dad Billy Ray. "Justin's a good friend. A good friend of the family," he told PEOPLE. "He actually reminds me a lot of myself when I was 20 years old."

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DIRTY DANCING

Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty

Shocking some fans, Cyrus pole-danced atop an ice cream cart for a performance of "Party in the USA" at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards. Though critics called the display "completely inappropriate," Billy Ray dismissed naysayers, saying, "Miley loves entertaining people."

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TWEETHEARTS

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After falling for Last Song costar Liam Hemsworth, the frequent Tweeter deleted her account in October 2009, writing, "FYI Liam doesn't have a Twitter and he wants ME to delete mine with good reason." Shortly after, Cyrus clarifies her farewell Tweet, "It wasn't because my friend told me to. I stopped living for moments and started living for people."

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ONSCREEN SEX

Credit: Pacific Coast News

Despite receiving criticism for calling Sex and the City her , the 16-year-old star makes her "dream come true" by filming a cameo in the R-rated Sex and the City 2 alongside Kim Cattrall.

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TWI-NOT

Credit: Inset: Amy Sancetta/AP

In the midst of Twilight mania, Cyrus made it clear she wasn't a Twi-Hard – and never will be. "I've never seen it and nor will I ever," she said of the blockbuster franchise. "I don't like vampires. I don't like the wolf that pops out of the screen when I'm watching my TV at night. I don't like it. I don't want anything to do with it."

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ALL EYES ON HER

Credit: Tom Briglia/FilmMagic; Kevin Mazur/WireImage

In February 2009, Cyrus was at the center of another photo flap when a shot of her pulling the corners of her eyes with a group of individuals squinting surfaced online. Though Cyrus denied mocking Asians, Korean comedian Margaret Cho had choice words: "This kind of joke has no proper place; Miley Cyrus is a disgrace!"

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GOODBYE, HANNAH

Credit: Jaimie Trueblood/Disney Channel/Getty

With her movie career picking up steam, Cyrus bid farewell to Hannah Montana as filming began on the Disney Channel show's fourth and final season in early 2010. "I'm not going to be tied down to a company where they're like, 'She sings! She acts!' " she told PEOPLE. "I won't have this mold they want me to fit into. I can just be what I want to be."

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I (DIDN'T) KISS A GIRL?

Credit: Ken McKay/TalkbackThames/Rex USA

While promoting her album Can't Be Tamed, Cyrus appeared to have kissed a female backup dancer during a performance on Britain's Got Talent in June 2010. When the incident caused a media firestorm, Cyrus denied the alleged lip-lock: "GET OVER IT! NOTHING HAPPENED. THERE ARE WAYYYYYYY MORE IMPORTANT?THINGS IN THE WORLD."

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GLEE FOUL

Credit: Carin Baer/FOX; Pete Goddard/Splash News Online

Though her hit "The Climb" was featured on Glee, Cyrus told Ryan Seacrest that she had never seen an episode of the FOX musical. "Someone asked me yesterday if I was a Gleek, and I said, 'What the heck is a Gleek? That's not something I want to be.'"

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PILLOW TALK

In October 2010, Cyrus debuted her sexiest music video to date for "Who Owns My Heart," in which the Hannah Montana star writhes on a bed wearing little more than lingerie.

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COCKTAIL HOUR?

Credit: Prisma/Splash News Online

Shortly after her split from Liam Hemsworth and the announcement of her parents' divorce, Cyrus, who turns 18 on Nov. 23, is photographed holding a beer at Kapital nightclub in Madrid, where the legal drinking age is 18.

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By Kiran Hefa