Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and recording artist. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, Duff gained fame for playing the title role in the television series Lizzie McGuire. Duff subsequently ventured into feature films, with her most commercially successful movies being Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), and A Cinderella Story (2004).
Duff expanded her repertoire into pop music with the release of three RIAA-certified platinum albums and over thirteen million records sold worldwide as of February 2007. Her first studio album, Metamorphosis (2003), was certified triple platinum and she followed it up with two more platinum albums, Hilary Duff (2004) and Most Wanted (2005).
Duff had a musical comeback with the release of her third studio album, Dignity (2007), which was certified gold in August 2007 and released two singles, "With Love", her biggest US single to date and "Stranger". In November 2008, she released another Greatest Hits compilation, Best of Hilary Duff with her third #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play single "Reach Out" .
Duff has also launched clothing lines including, "Stuff by Hilary Duff", and Femme for DKNY Jeans and two exclusive perfume collections with Elizabeth Arden. Duff and her mother were listed as producers for the movie Material Girls. Duff is credited as executive producer for the upcoming independent film Greta.
Duff's early career was marked by playing minor roles, starting off with an uncredited appearance in Hallmark Entertainment's western miniseries True Women in 1997. She also served as an uncredited extra, in writer-director Willard Carroll's ensemble dramedy Playing by Heart in 1998. Her first major role was as a star of the 1998 film Casper Meets Wendy, a direct-to-video sequel to Casper: A Spirited Beginning in which she plays the young witch Wendy, who befriends the animated character Casper. The film was released to mostly unenthusiastic reviews.
In 1999, Duff appeared in a supporting role in the television film The Soul Collector, which was based on a Kathleen Kane novel. Duff won a Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot (Supporting Young Actress)" for her role in the movie.
Duff's first serious rise to fame came when she was cast as one of the children in the pilot episode of the NBC sitcom Daddio in 2000. 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."
Duff was dropped from the cast of Daddio before it was aired, which made her reluctant to pursue her acting career further. However, her manager and mother urged her on, and a week later she successfully auditioned for the children's television series Lizzie McGuire, where she portrayed the title role of a clumsy but average middle school girl. The show focused on her growth into teenhood.
