Hilary Erhard Duff
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Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, singer, songwriter and author. Duff began her acting career at a young age and quickly became labeled a teen idol as the title character of the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire (2001–2004) and in the theatrical film based off the series, The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003). Thereafter, Duff appeared in numerous films, with leading roles in Agent Cody Banks (2003), Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), A Cinderella Story (2004), and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005). After experiencing commercial and critical failure in Material Girls (2006), Duff began appearing in independent films such as War, Inc. (2008), According to Greta (2009), and Bloodworth (2010). Since 2015, she has starred as Kelsey Peters on the TV Land comedy-drama series Younger, for which she has received nominations for People’s Choice Awards in 2016 and 2017. Duff first came to prominence in music after releasing her Christmas-themed debut studio album Santa Claus Lane (2002) through Walt Disney Records. She then enjoyed significant commercial success and platinum and gold certifications with her subsequent studio albums released through Hollywood Records, including Metamorphosis (2003), Hilary Duff (2004), Most Wanted (2005), and Dignity (2007). Following a hiatus from music, Duff signed with RCA Records for her fifth studio album Breathe In. Breathe Out. (2015), which debuted in the top 5 positions in North America. In addition to music and acting, Duff has also co-authored a trilogy of novels, beginning with Elixir (2010), which became a New York Times best seller, and followed by the sequels Devoted (2011) and True (2013). Duff has also had fashion lines of her own such as Stuff by Duff, Femme for DKNY and most recently the “Muse x Hilary Duff” collection, a collaborative effort with GlassesUSA.com. She has been the subject of media attention throughout her career, with interest focusing on her romantic relationships, friendships, and public image, especially her relationships with Aaron Carter and Joel Madden when she was a teenager. Duff was married to former professional hockey player Mike Comrie from 2010 to 2016, with whom she shares a son. Duff has been described as an inspiration by subsequent Disney teen stars such as Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Bridgit Mendler, and Selena Gomez, and has sold an estimated 15 million records since her debut in 2002. With her debut, Duff’s music featured prominent pop and pop rock elements. Duff cited listening to rock music as a child for the main influence behind the theme. She worked heavily with The Matrix for her second studio album, leading critics to compare the effort to releases from artists such as Avril Lavigne, Ashlee Simpson and Lindsay Lohan. These themes were featured more prominently on her third studio album, Hilary Duff. The album makes further use of strong drum and guitar beats. Duff co-wrote multiple songs for the album, with the lyrics speaking on topics such as criticism, following
your dreams, and love. The new material featured on her Most Wanted (2005) compilation album began to see Duff transfer towards a more pop and dance friendly sound. This was later expanded upon for her fourth studio album, Dignity (2007). Dignity was heavily influenced by Europop, hip hop, and rock ‘n roll. Duff described the music as “dance,” “rock,” and Duff co-wrote all but one of the songs on the album, which dealt with topics including her stalker, her breakup with Joel Madden, and her parents’ divorce. Following its release, someone said the album was “slightly ahead of its time.”
Duff’s 2014 releases, featured a more folk influenced, earthy indie pop sound compared to her last release. The album’s lead single was planned to be “All About You” (2014) and, among other instruments, it featured a banjo and an acoustic sound. Instead of the original plans, Duff released a dance-pop record which balanced EDM with the folk pop sound originally planned for the record. This album consolidated Duff as a dance-pop singer. Following the launch of Lizzie McGuire, Duff received a significant amount of fame and media attention. The series proved to be a major hit for the network, and led to a string of merchandising that included Lizzie McGuire dolls, video games, plush figures, and even McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys. The success of The Lizzie McGuire Movie “indicated that Duff’s television fanbase could be migrated to film.” Following her success from her Lizzie McGuire days, Richard Huff of the New York Daily News called Duff “a 2002 version of Annette Funicello” but admitted that the character of Lizzie McGuire was both a blessing and burden for her. In 2003, Huff stated that Duff’s public image is “tied” to Lizzie McGuire. In 2005, Katie Long from the Centre of Parent/Youth Understanding wrote an analysis of Duff and her suitability as an idol for young teens. Duff, she wrote, “is not like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera… yet,” celebrities who seem to use their sex appeal to sell albums, but remains “someone that adolescent girls can relate to.” However, while Duff is a “positive role model” who has a “close relationship” with her family, the writer acknowledged that as Duff matures, “her looks and message will most likely mature as well.” Duff was credited with the revival of Hollywood Records following the release of Metamorphosis (2003). The San Fernando Valley Business Journal wrote that the album was “giving Hollywood Records a needed shot in the arm” after a decline in CD sales during the previous two years had forced the label to reduce costs and alter its operation. Hilliard Lyons analyst Jeffrey Thomison cited Metamorphosis as a reflection of Disney’s ability to develop “great synergy between their cable, film and music segments” Duff’s transition from Disney star to successful singer became a formula that Hollywood Records tried to implement with future acts such as Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and Bridgit Mendler among others. Artists such as Miley Cyrus,[168] Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande and Keke Palmer have all cited Duff as influences on their careers. Her song “Come Clean” (2003) was used as the theme song to the MTV reality series Laguna Beach, which is in turn credited with helping promote the song in the United States. Her song “Sweet Sixteen” (2003) was used as the theme for the MTV reality series of the same name. Multiple dates on her Most Wanted Tour to promote Hilary Duff (2004) sold out in minutes. Her success with music led to her selling over fifteen million albums by 2014.
Her transition from teenage star to adult actress has been praised by some critics, while her transition is often compared to the less successful transitions of her peers. In 2007, Duff’s appearance on the cover of Maxim was accompanied by the declaration that she had gone “from the queen of teen to breakout sex symbol.” Following this, Duff placed at #23 on the annual Hot 100 Women list compiled by Maxim. She has remained on the list ever since in addition to being regularly listed on the annual FHM list of the 100 Sexiest Women (she peaked at #8 in 2008). The Associated Press wrote that this sudden provocativeness was representative of “a clear move [on Duff’s part] to put her Lizzie McGuire past behind her”, and that more provocative imaging of her would help her singles to garner mainstream radio play: “Ultimately, nature, time and genetics may help Duff in a way Disney, despite all its might, cannot.” However, despite “the fact that she is grown up,” Duff “has managed to maintain her sweet persona,” wrote Young Hollywood. Following the birth of her son, Duff was the center of criticism for her post-pregnancy body. In 2013, Duff said that it took her a year for her to lose her baby weight and that she lost nearly 50 pounds since the birth of her son. Duff stated that she revamped her diet and hired a personal trainer to train her in boxing, which was one of the ways she lost her weight in addition to piloxing and spin cycling. Duff’s slow but healthy method in shedding off her post-pregnancy weight was praised by health experts and was looked up by actress Tia Mowry, who cited Duff as her idol in taking up a healthy and safer way to lose the excess weight gained during pregnancy. Duff is very vocal about her disapproval of paparazzi photographing children.[184] In 2014, Duff expressed her anger on Twitter regarding two paparazzi who were taking pictures of her son without her consent. She tweeted, “I chose to let them off with a stern warning, next time I will not be so nice. The hashtag refers to a bill that was pushed by fellow actresses Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner, which prohibits paparazzi from taking pictures of celebrities’ children. Duff created media attention in Halloween of 2015 due to the costumes she and ex-boyfriend Jason Walsh wore to a party. Duff and Walsh wore a pilgrim and Native American costume respectively, drawing criticism online with some social media users accusing them of cultural appropriation. Duff’s act happened around the same time the Dakota Access Pipeline issue arose. Following the backlash, both Duff and Walsh posted apology messages on their Twitter and Instagram accounts respectively. The pair would later separate in November 2016. In 2001, it was confirmed that Duff was in a relationship with fellow teen star Aaron Carter. Carter later guest-starred in an episode of Lizzie McGuire with Duff. The relationship garnered media attention with reports of a love triangle between Duff, Carter, and actress Lindsay Lohan. Duff and Carter continued an on-again-off-again relationship for three years, before ultimately ending their relationship for good. In July 2004, a 16-year-old Duff began dating Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden, who was then 25 years old. After a long period of tabloid speculation, Duff’s mother Susan announced their relationship in a June 2005 interview for Seventeen magazine. Madden worked with Duff on her compilation album, Most Wanted. In November 2006, Duff and Madden broke up. Duff began dating Canadian NHL player Mike Comrie in 2007. Duff and Comrie announced their engagement in February 2010, and married on August 14, 2010, in Santa Barbara, California. Duff announced her pregnancy in 2011, and gave birth to a son in March 2012. On January 10, 2014, Duff and Comrie announced that they had amicably separated and would continue to co-parent their son. In February 2015, Duff filed for divorce from Comrie, citing irreconcilable differences, and requesting primary physical and legal joint custody of their son. The divorce was finalized in February 2016. Following her split from Comrie, Duff dated personal trainer Jason Walsh from August 2015 until November 2016. Duff has been in a relationship with Matthew Koma since January 2017. Duff and Koma worked together extensively for her 2015 album Breathe In. Breathe Out.; the title track is a track he co-wrote and produced. On October 25, 2018, Duff delivered their first child, a daughter named Banks Violet Bair, via a home water birth. Duff has involved herself with various philanthropic activities. For natural disasters, she donated $250,000 to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina in addition to donating over 2.5 million meals to Hurricane Katrina victims in the southern US in 2005. In August 2006, Duff traveled to a New Orleans elementary school and worked with USA Harvest to distribute meals.
She has helped various youth charities and is a member of Kids with a Cause. Duff has also served on the Advisory Board of the Audrey Hepburn Child Benefit Fund and the Celebrity Council of Kids with a Cause. In October 2008, Duff starred in a public service announcement for The Think Before You Speak Campaign by Ad Council and GLSEN to prevent youth from using anti-LGBT vocabulary, such as the phrase “That’s So Gay.” In July 2009, Duff was named as a Youth Ambassador to the children of the Colombian capital, Bogotá. As a Youth Ambassador, she spent five days in the country, distributing backpacks filled with food to needy children. Duff is a strong animal rights supporter and commented when asked what she would do if she was not a celebrity, “I always wanted to be a veterinarian when I was younger, but then I figured out that animals actually die there, so that was not the job for me. Definitely something with kids or animals or something like that.” In 2012, a few months after giving birth to her son, Duff was actively involved in the Johnson’s Baby Cares campaign. The campaign included activities such as sending care kits and care cards to new mothers across the U.S. as a motivation. It also raises funds for children and poor families together with Save The Children. Towards the start of the Christmas shopping season in November 2013, Duff teamed up with Duracell in Canada for a campaign especially for kids in hospitals. The 
campaign called Powering Holiday Smiles donated 20,000 batteries to hospitals across Canada in order to power lifesaving medical devices and the thousands of playroom toys and games that children and their families would be using during the holiday season of 2013 and beyond. The campaign encourages Canadians to buy Duracell Quantum AA-16 batteries, in which for every packet sold, one dollar will be donated to the Children’s Miracle Network. The campaign began on November 22 and ended on December 27, 2013. In order to promote the campaign, Duff paid a visit to The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, to hand out brand new toys supplied by Hasbro. She has discussed the campaign on Breakfast Television Toronto, a radio show, and in numerous magazine interviews. She has also participated in various online charity campaigns, including a partnership with Claritin, and raising relief efforts for the 2018 Hanalei floods via sales of her “Muse x Hilary Duff Collection”. She was also one of the celebrities who participated in the 2017 telethon for the Houston floods and contributed an essay about the devastating effect the hurricane left on her hometown, on Marie Claire’s official website.
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