Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepeneur, and book author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, Duff gained fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She subsequently ventured into motion pictures and has appeared in many successful films, including The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Cheaper by the Dozen, A Cinderella Story and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. She most recently appeared in According to Greta, Stay Cool, and Bloodworth. Her upcoming films include The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, and She Wants Me.
Duff has expanded her repertoire to include pop music and has released three RIAA-certified platinum albums. Metamorphosis, her debut studio album, was certified triple platinum. Her next two albums, Hilary Duff and Most Wanted, were also certified platinum. In 2007, Duff released her third studio album, Dignity, which was certified gold and spawned her highest charting US single to date, "With Love". Best of Hilary Duff, a compilation of her greatest hits, was released in the last quarter of 2008. Duff has sold over thirteen million records worldwide.[3] Billboard ranked her the 69th best selling artist of the 2000s.
Branching into the fashion industry, Duff has also launched her own clothing lines, Stuff by Hilary Duff and Femme for DKNY Jeans, and has signed with IMG Models. She has also released two exclusive perfume collections with Elizabeth Arden. Her other business ventures include writing a young adult novel, Elixir, and working as an executive producer for According to Greta and as a producer for the films Material Girls and Beauty & the Briefcase.
Hilary Duff - YouTube Intro
Life and career
1987–99: Early life and career beginnings
Duff with her sister in April 2008
Duff was born in Houston, Texas,[5] to Susan Colleen (née Cobb), a homemaker, and Robert Erhard Duff, a partner in a chain of convenience stores.[6] Her older sister, Haylie Duff, is an actress and singer. Duff's mother encouraged her to enroll in acting classes with Haylie. Both girls won roles in local theatre productions.[7] At the ages of six and eight, the two sisters participated in a BalletMet Columbus production of The Nutcracker Suite in San Antonio.[5] The sisters became increasingly interested in acting professionally. Their mother moved with them to California, but their father stayed in Houston to maintain his business.[6][7] Because she had been pursuing a professional acting career at such a young age, Duff was home-schooled.[8] The sisters auditioned for several years and were cast in several television commercials.[6]
Early in her acting career, Duff primarily played minor roles. In 1997, she appeared uncredited in the Hallmark Entertainment western miniseries True Women. The following year, she played an uncredited extra in an ensemble dramedy, Playing by Heart. Her first major role was a young witch, Wendy, in Casper Meets Wendy. The film, however, was released to mostly unenthusiastic reviews.[9][10] In 1999, Duff appeared in a supporting role in the television film The Soul Collector, which was based on a Kathleen Kane novel. For her performance, Duff won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot (Supporting Young Actress).[11]
2000–03: Lizzie McGuire, rise to fame and Metamorphosis
Duff first rose to fame in 2000 when she was cast as one of the children in the pilot episode of the NBC sitcom Daddio. Her co-star, Michael Chiklis, stated, "After working with her the first day, I remember saying to my wife, 'this young girl is going to be a movie star'. She was completely at ease with herself and comfortable in her own skin."[6] When Duff was dropped from the cast before the show aired, she became reluctant to pursue her acting career further.[6] Her manager and mother, however, urged her on. A week later she auditioned successfully for the title role of a newly developed children's television series, Lizzie McGuire.[6] The show focused on her growth into teenhood.
Lizzie McGuire first aired on the Disney Channel on January 12, 2001, and was a ratings hit. It attracted about 2.3 million viewers per episode.[6] Her participation in the show made her popular among children between the ages of 7 and 14.[12] Richard Huff, a New York Daily News critic, called her "a 2002 version of Annette Funicello".[6] After Duff fulfilled her 65 episode contract with Lizzie McGuire, Disney considered expanding the franchise to films and a prime-time television series. The plans failed, however, because Duff's representatives said she was not being paid enough for the proposed series.[13] Duff also starred in the Disney Channel television film Cadet Kelly (2002), which became the network's most watched program in its 19-year history.[6] In the movie, she plays a free-spirited girl who struggles in a strict military school.
Duff's first role in a theatrical motion picture was in Human Nature in 2002. The film was showcased first at the Cannes and Sundance film festivals.[14] In the film, Duff portrays the younger version of a female naturalist, played by Patricia Arquette.
In 2002, Duff recorded a cover version of Brooke McClymont's "I Can't Wait" for the Lizzie McGuire soundtrack, and "The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" for the first DisneyMania compilation album. She also released her first album, titled Santa Claus Lane. The album is a collection of Christmas songs that includes duets with her sister, Haylie, Lil' Romeo, and Christina Milian. Accompanied by the Disney Channel-only single "Tell Me a Story (About the Night Before)", the album peaked at 154 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart and was certified gold.[15][16]
In 2003, Duff received her first major role in a feature film when she was cast alongside Frankie Muniz in Agent Cody Banks. The film received positive reviews and was successful enough to spawn a sequel, in which Duff did not participate. That year, Duff reprised her role as Lizzie McGuire for The Lizzie McGuire Movie. It received mixed reviews, with certain critics calling it "an unabashed promotion of Duff’s image, just as Crossroads was for Britney Spears".[17][18][19] Later that year, Duff played one of the 12 children of Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt in the family film Cheaper by the Dozen, which remains her highest grossing film to date.[20] She reprised her role in the sequel Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), which failed to be as successful as the original film and was panned by critics.[21]
Duff's first studio album, Metamorphosis (2003), reached number one on the U.S. and Canadian charts[22] and has sold over 3.9 million copies in the U.S by January 2007.[23] The lead single, "So Yesterday" (co-written and produced by The Matrix), was a top ten hit in several countries;[24] its follow-up was the Laguna Beach theme song "Come Clean". The third single, "Little Voice", was not released in the U.S. and was a minor hit in Australia.[25] In late 2003, Duff embarked on her first concert tour, the Metamorphosis Tour, and later the Most Wanted Tour. Most shows scheduled in the major cities were sold out.[26]
Duff also made several guest appearances in television shows, her first as a sick child in the medical drama Chicago Hope in March 2000.[27] In a 2003 episode of George Lopez, she had a role as a makeup salesperson; she later reappeared in the show in 2005 as Kenzie, a feminist poet friend of the character Carmen (Masiela Lusha). In the same year, she acted opposite her sister Haylie in American Dreams, while in 2005, she played a classmate and idolizer of the title character of Joan of Arcadia.[28]
2004–06: Hilary Duff, A Cinderella Story and Most Wanted
Duff in 2005
Duff's second studio album was the self-titled Hilary Duff, for which she co-wrote some songs.[29] It was released on her seventeenth birthday (in September 2004) and debuted at #2 in the U.S. and at #1 in Canada. The album sold over 1.5 million copies in the U.S. in eight months with its only US single, "Fly".[30]
In 2004, Duff starred in the romantic comedy A Cinderella Story. Though the reviews were mostly negative, the film went on to become a moderate box office hit,[20][31] and critics were impressed by Duff's performance.[32] Later that year, she starred in the film Raise Your Voice, her first role in a drama film. While some critics praised Duff for appearing in a more mature and serious role than her previous films, the film itself was heavily panned and bombed at the box office.[33] Several reviews were indifferent towards her acting performance and were critical of Duff's vocals, with critics pointing out what appeared to be her digitally enhanced voice.[34][35][36][37] The same year, Duff received her first Razzie nomination for worst actress for her roles in Raise Your Voice and A Cinderella Story.[38]
In 2005, Duff starred in The Perfect Man, in which she played the eldest daughter of a divorced woman (Heather Locklear). In the same year, Duff was again nominated for a Razzie Award, for The Perfect Man and Cheaper by the Dozen 2.[39] Later that year, the Duff sisters lent their voices to the computer animated comedy Foodfight!, which was to be distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment but was never released. The director of the film, Larry Kasanoff, said that he was "absolutely thrilled to have the Duff sisters as part of the cast".[40] She also starred in the 2006 satirical comedy Material Girls, in which she co-starred with her sister Haylie Duff.[41] Duff along with her sister Haylie, received two more nominations for Razzie Awards for their roles in the film.[42]
Duff poses with a fan in Fayetteville, North Carolina, before her annual concert for military families
Duff's third album, Most Wanted (2005), comprised songs from her previous two albums, remixes and three new songs which included "Wake Up" written by Joel Madden and his brother, Benji, both members of Good Charlotte.[43] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200[44] and became her third number one debut in Canada. It sold over two hundred thousand copies within its first week of release.[45] An Italy-only compilation, 4Ever, was released in 2006. Duff recorded a cover version of Madonna's "Material Girl" with her sister for their movie, Material Girls.[46]
2007–08: Dignity, independent film roles and Best of Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff at the MuchMusic Video Awards in 2007
During her Still Most Wanted tour, she performed in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she filmed a brief appearance on the soap opera Rebelde. She was also the guest star on The Andy Milonakis Show for its third season premiere in 2007.[47] In April 2008, Duff was offered the lead role of Annie Mills in the CW Network's Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff, but she turned it down because she was more interested in looking for projects outside the teen genre.[48][49]
Duff co-wrote the material for her third studio album Dignity, along with Kara DioGuardi, who co-produced the album with Rhett Lawrence, Tim & Bob, and Richard Vission. Duff stated that compared to her previous music, it is "more dancey" and makes use of more real instruments. She said, "I don't know exactly how to explain what we're doing, but it's fun and funky and different, something new for me. It's really cool".[50] Duff also starred opposite John Cusack in War, Inc. which was released in theatres in Los Angeles and Manhattan, New York on May 23, 2008.
On September 7, 2007, Duff confirmed on MuchOnDemand, that she would be filming two independent films According to Greta, and What Goes Up.[51] In June 2008, Duff joined the cast of the Polish brothers comedy Stay Cool. She co-starred alongside Winona Ryder, Mark Polish, Sean Astin, Chevy Chase, and Jon Cryer. In the film, she portrayed the character of Shasta O'Neil, described as a sexy high school senior, the film was released in 2009.[52]
In November 2008, Duff's second greatest hits album, Best of Hilary Duff was released[53] and the album's first single "Reach Out", which samples Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus", was released in the previous month. The song became Duff's third #1 dance hit.[54][55] She then parted ways with Hollywood Records after six years of service and then announced to MTV that she would begin work on her new album in December 2008.[56]
2009–present: Television appearances and young adult novels
Duff in October 2010
Duff appeared in episodes of Ghost Whisperer and of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in April 2009.[57] In July 2009, She attained a role in Gossip Girl as a recurring guest star.[58] She played the character of Olivia Burke, a movie star who enrols at NYU in search of a traditional college experience. The following year, she won a Teen Choice Award for "Best Female Scene Stealer" for her role as Olivia Burke.[59]
In September 2009, Duff released a second clothing line with DKNY Jeans as Femme for DKNY[60] in the objective of designing a clothing line for girls her own age.[61]
Duff starred in Beauty and the Briefcase, a romantic comedy based on the book Diary of a Working Girl, by Daniella Brodsky and directed by Gil Junger. The film premiered on ABC Family on April 18, 2010. In the film, Duff plays a fashion magazine columnist who writes about her dating struggles in the city.[62]
Simon & Schuster published Elixir, Duff's first novel, in hardcover on October 12, 2010.[63] Elixir is the first in a series of books that Duff is committed in scribing. The book, aimed at young adults, has since been released internationally and has become a New York Times best-seller. The sequel to the book, entitled Devoted will be released in hardcover on October 11, 2011.
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