Toxic Fame: Desperately seeking Hannah

In our house Hannah Montana gets at least her fair share of air time.  For the uninitiated Hannah is the alter ego of mild mannered teen Miley (Miley Cyrus).  In the show Miley and her father Billy Ray (real life father Billy Ray Cyrus) created Hannah so that she can have the 'best of both worlds'.  Adding a blond wig and a trendier wardrobe allows her to live the rock star lifestyle.  Removing them allows her to live a normal life without the problems of celebrity.

So it was interesting, and very sad to read the following article: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/16/3140105.htm
In it Billy Ray Cyrus blames the show Hannah Montana for ruining his family and setting his daughter on a dangerous spiral.  Indeed in the last twelve months Cyrus has filed for divorce from his wife, and his daughter has stumbled from controversy to controversy. 

She seems to be sliding off the rails.  It appears that she might be taking the first steps down a road too often trod by young celebrities.  Names such as Drew Barrymore, Dana Plato (Kimberley from Different Strokes) and don't forget the current pin up of off-the-rails-child-actors Lindsay Lohan, lead the list of stars who have struggled with being thrust into the spotlight as children or teens.  Others have not gone quite so far down this road, but still had difficulties - Macaulay Culkin, the Olsen twins and Tracey Gold (Growing Pains) come to mind.  Nor is this a new phenomenon.  Child stars Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney are almost as well known for their seeming inability to have a long term relationship (each married 8 times - though to be fair Rooney's last marriage has lasted over 30 years) as they are for their film careers. 

It seems that celebrity has a potentially toxic effect, especially on the young stars.  Some seem to be able to cope.  Hilary Duff seems to have survived in ways that near contemporaries Cyrus and Lohan haven't.  This may be because she seems to understand the place she plays in the lives of her fans, and has tried to be a good role model.  Others like Candace Cameron (Full House) largely turned their back on fame after the show finished, and are content to live a "normal" life.  However for those caught in the celebrity trap life seems difficult.  Even one mistake can come back to bite you - ask Vanessa Hudgens.  A series of them, and it all snowballs.  One seems to have to be almost impossibly good, or reject celebrity to survive.

I wonder how differently the Cyrus story would have been if Miley Cyrus had had a Hannah Montana.  Then her mistakes would have been private, rather than held out for the world to see.  She could have had a shot at a "normal" childhood, free from the scrutiny of celebrity. 

Billy Ray wishes there had never been a Hannah Montana, but I wonder if Miley sometimes wishes there had been...