Biography
Teen actress Hilary Duff quickly rose to fame on the strength of her winning performance on the successful television series
Lizzie McGuire. Born in Houston, TX, September 28, 1987, she developed an interest in dance at the age of six and began taking ballet lessons, later making her stage debut in a Christmas production of The Nutcracker. She developed a stronger passion for acting after being cast in a television commercial, and, in 1998, appeared in the direct-to-video
Casper Meets Wendy as Wendy, a youthful witch.
After taking on more dramatic roles in the made-for-TV movie
The Soul Collector and a guest appearance on
Chicago Hope, Duff was cast in the title role of
Lizzie McGuire in 2001. A sitcom for young people,
Lizzie McGuire concerned the trials and tribulations of middle-school student Lizzie as she and her animated alter ego deal with the funny side of adolescence. An immediate hit on The Disney Channel, the show made Duff a recognizable face to television viewers, and Disney quickly responded by casting her in a made-for-cable movie,
Cadet Kelly, which earned high ratings. In 2002, the actress also made a brief appearance in the offbeat comedy
Human Nature, playing Young Lila, a hirsute child who grows up to become
Patricia Arquette.
After the success of
Lizzie McGuire, Duff branched out into music, writing and singing a song for the show's soundtrack album, and recording a Christmas album in 2002. Released in theaters in the summer of 2003,
The Lizzie McGuire Movie provided the ideal cinematic alternative for pre-teen girls uninterested in the exploits of X2: X-Men United and too young to be swept up in the hype of
The Matrix Reloaded. Taking in twice the cost of production in only four weeks at the box office, Duff stunned fans less than a month after the film's stateside release by announcing that, due to contract negotiation failures, she would be departing from the lucrative Lizzie McGuire franchise to pursue other career opportunities. By the time the show's finale aired in 2004, Duff had already kicked her film career into high gear, closing out 2003 with three hit films under her belt:
Agent Cody Banks, the aforementioned
Lizzie McGuire Movie, and the holiday blockbuster
Cheaper by the Dozen.
Hoping to keep her momentum growing, Duff attached herself to another trio of features, two of which were helmed by
Lizzie McGuire director Mark Rosman. The first was the drama
Raise Your Voice, playing a small-town girl who learns to fight for her superstar dreams. In 2005 she returned for the sequel
Cheaper by the Dozen 2, and starred opposite
Heather Locklear in the
Mermaids-like romantic comedy
The Perfect Man. In 2006 Hilary starred and produced in the Martha Coolidge helmed
Material Girls, where she and sister Haylie played spoiled heiresses whose lives change radically when their family loses its fortune. The butter-knife sharp satire failed to connect even with the Duffs' core audience. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide