Hilary Duff
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Hilary Ann Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American film actress and pop music singer.
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Early life and career
Hilary Ann Duff was born in Houston, Texas the second child of Bob Duff, owner of a chain of convenience stores, and his wife Susan, a homemaker. After her mother encouraged her to take an acting class alongside her older sister, Haylie Duff, both girls won parts in various local theatre productions. At the age of six, the Duffs participated in the ballet The Nutcracker Suite with Columbus Ballet Met in San Antonio. The siblings became more and more enthusiastic about the idea of acting professionally, and they eventually relocated to California with their mother. Bob Duff stayed at the family home in Houston to maintain their business. Through years of auditions and meetings, both sisters managed to clinch appearances in several television commercials. Template:Ref
Acting
Most of Duff's first few acting roles were small, starting off with an uncredited appearance in Hallmark Entertainment's western miniseries True Women (1997), an adaptation of the novel by Janice Woods Windle. She also served as an extra, again uncredited, in writer and director Willard Carroll's comedy drama Playing by Heart (1998), whose ensemble cast included Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery and Angelina Jolie, star of True Women from the previous year.
Her first major part was as the star of the 1998 film Casper Meets Wendy, playing the young witch Wendy who encounters the animated character Casper. Like Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997), the first sequel to the hugely successful Casper (1995), the film went direct-to-video with generally unenthusiastic reviews.
Duff later appeared in a supporting role in the television movie The Soul Collector in 1999, which was based on a Kathleen Kane novel, and starred Bruce Greenwood as an angel who helps out a female farmer (Melissa Gilbert) whose husband has recently died. Duff ended up winning a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot (Supporting Young Actress).
Duff's first serious shot at fame came when she was cast as one of the children in the pilot episode of the NBC sitcom Daddio (2000). Said Michael Chiklis, star of Daddio, "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." Template:Ref However, before the show had even aired, Duff was dropped from its cast lineup, an unfortunate turn of events which made the twelve-year-old reluctant to continue her acting career. But her manager and mother, Susan Duff, spurred her on, and she successfully auditioned for the family comedy show Lizzie McGuire just a week later.
Lizzie McGuire, which first aired on the Disney Channel in January 2001, was a ratings hit, drawing in 2.3 million viewers per episode Template:Ref, and became the career breakthrough Duff had been waiting for. Her performance in this role as a typical teenager led to appearances on the covers of many teen magazines, and she became highly popular among children between the ages of seven and fourteen, with Richard Huff of the New York Daily News calling her "a 2002 version of Annette Funicello" Template:Ref. After fulfilling her entire sixty-five episode contract, as well as participating in a film spin-off, Disney toyed with the idea of continuing the franchise in further movies and a prime-time television series to be broadcast on ABC, but Duff refused the proposal. There were rumours that there was a dispute over the amount of pay Duff would receive; reportedly, she had been receiving $35,000 per episode, but her representatives, including her mother, wanted that figure to be raised to $100,000.
Duff's second role in a theatrical motion picture was in Human Nature, an independent US/French co-production released in most countries in 2002 following a good reception at the Cannes and Sundance film festivals. Written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry, the film follows a female naturalist, played by Patricia Arquette, who has body hair growing all over her body. Tim Robbins and Rhys Ifans co-starred. Duff played the younger version of Arquette's character.
She starred in the Disney Channel television movie Cadet Kelly (2002) with Christy Carlson Romano and Gary Cole. It became the network's most watched program ever. Template:Ref
Her first hit movie was Agent Cody Banks with Frankie Muniz in 2003.
Duff then reprised the role of Lizzie McGuire in The Lizzie McGuire Movie, which was her first million-dollar movie role.
She played the part of Lorraine Baker in the Twentieth Century Fox film Cheaper by the Dozen with Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt.
In 2004, she appeared in the romantic comedy A Cinderella Story, a twenty-first century update of Charles Perrault's classic fairy tale Cinderella. Comedienne Jennifer Coolidge played the wicked stepmother of the picture, which was directed by Mark Rosman, a veteran of Duff's Lizzie McGuire. Trashed upon its release in the summer, the film nonetheless became a modest sleeper hit, and many critics were impressed by Duff's performance, as well as her chemistry with co-star Chad Michael Murray, another actor popular with teens, who plays Duff's love interest in the film.
Later that year, she starred in the romance film Raise Your Voice, which marked the third collaboration between Duff and director Sean McNamara (after Casper Meets Wendy and episodes of Lizzie McGuire). While some critics praised Duff for appearing in a more dramatic role than she had previously been seen in, the film was heavily panned, with many slating in particular the striking similarities to the musical film Fame (1980). Reviews were, by and large, negative to Duff's vocals and indifferent towards Duff's acting performance, although she did receive a Razzie award nomination for "Worst Actress" (in addition to her work in A Cinderella Story). The film also received a muted reception at the fall box office, where it became Duff's least commercially successful film to date.
In Duff's latest film, The Perfect Man, she plays the eldest daughter of a divorced woman, played by Heather Locklear, who moves to New York City as she desperately searches for a good man to settle down with. The movie sees Duff once again united with director Mark Rosman. Reviews were mostly negative. Duff is currently filming the satirical comedy Material Girls, which is tentatively slated for a 2006 release. The Martha Coolidge-directed film, co-produced by Madonna's independent film production company Maverick Entertainment, stars Hilary and her real-life sister Haylie as wealthy siblings who must fight to reclaim their fortune following a scandal Template:Ref. Based on a script written by John Quaintance, the film co-stars Angelica Huston, Lukas Haas and Brent Spiner Template:Ref. The Duff sisters are also due to lend their vocal talents to the computer animated comedy Foodfight!, to be distributed by Lions Gate Films sometime in the fall of 2006 Template:Ref.
Music
Duff's first recorded singing performance was on the song "I Can't Wait", which appeared on the original television soundtrack for her television show Lizzie McGuire in August 2002. The following month, the first Disneymania compilation album was released, and featured Duff's singing in the song "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room".
Her first album was the 2002 collection of Christmas songs entitled Santa Claus Lane, which made the lower reaches of the Billboard 200 album chart and Number 3 on the kids' music chart. Released in October, the album eventually achieved gold sales in December of the following year. The title track was also included on the soundtrack to The Santa Clause 2, starring Tim Allen.
She also sang on several tracks on the soundtrack to The Lizzie McGuire Movie which was released in April 2003, a few weeks before the actual film came out. One of these tracks, "Why Not", which is performed by Duff in the film, was released as a single, and reached the Top 20 on singles charts in countries including Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands.
Later that year, she recorded her first non-holiday album, entitled Metamorphosis, which was released on August 26 and went to number one on the US and Canadian charts in that year. The Metamorphosis album featured music that would appeal to teenagers, as well as the younger children who had supported her to date. Songwriting team The Matrix, who had worked with singers such as Avril Lavigne (on her Let Go album) and Liz Phair, provided three songs on the album. One of these songs, "So Yesterday", was released as the first single, reaching Number 2 in Canada, the Top 40 in Australia, and peaked just outside the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Duff agreed to perform "So Yesterday" at MTV's New Year Bash 2004 in New York City's Times Square on December 31, but the song (and the vocals) playing over the speakers during the performance skipped (in the same way that a CD does on a malfunctioning CD player), revealing that she had been lip synching.
Metamorphosis became the eighth highest selling LP of the year, with over 2.4 million copies purchased in its first four months of release. It has since gone three times platinum. Her success as a singer helped her to be ranked #96 on the Forbes Top 100 Celebrity List of 2003. Subsequent singles from the album include:
- Come Clean, which reached the Top 10 in Canada, Top 20 in Australia and New Zealand and Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100; and
- Little Voice, which reached the Australian Top 40 in May 2004.
Metamorphosis was nominated in the Juno Awards of 2004 for International Album of the Year, losing to 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
On May 31, 2004, the music video for her cover version of "Our Lips are Sealed" by the Go-Gos, which she performed with her sister Haylie Duff, made its MTV debut Template:Ref. The song was commissioned for the soundtrack of Duff's film A Cinderella Story, which came out the following July.
On September 28, 2004 (her seventeenth birthday), she released her second album, the self-titled Hilary Duff. When describing the album to her fans, Duff noted that she felt it has an edgier, rock feel to it. The album's working title was The Girl Can Rock. Its first single is "Fly", and it also includes "Haters", the lyrics of which were once rumoured to be about Lindsay Lohan, who is often considered by the media to be Duff's rival. Template:Ref
She accepted an invitation to perform at the youth concert which formed part of George W. Bush's 2005 Inauguration Day celebrations.
On August 16, 2005, Hilary Duff will release her third official album, Most Wanted. This will be a compilation of her most popular hits, along side three new songs, which she is working on in the studio. Hilary gets help from Joel Madden, one of her best friends, to make her three new tracks edgier and more rock. For inspiration, she is listening to stuff by The Killers, Muse, and more.
Personal life
Duff has dated singer Aaron Carter, brother of Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter. There were reports that she had tried to have fellow teen actress Lindsay Lohan banned from the preview of Cheaper by the Dozen because Lohan had previously been dating Carter in late 2003, as well as other reports about a fistfight that supposedly took place between the two actresses. Hilary Duff was furious when she found out that Aaron Carter had been dating her and Lindsay Lohan at the same time.
She also was involved in a celebrity feud with Avril Lavigne. Apparently, she insulted Avril Lavigne by saying that she didn't respect her fans.
Duff has also been reported to have dated Jordan Masterson.
Duff is involved with many charities, is an animal rights enthusiast, and a member of "Kids With a Cause." She gets up at 4.30 a.m. to allow her to study. Nicknames include Hil (allegedly the most common), Hilly, Juicy Fruit, and Hils.
Duff launched a clothing line, "Stuff" on March 12, 2004 with clothes distributed through Target in the United States and Zellers in Canada.
Her sister, Haylie Duff, has been trying to sing, too. Hilary has helped her with duet songs including "Our Lips Are Sealed" which have been successful in the United States and in other countries, including Mexico and Colombia.
Her mother, Susan Duff, is a producer, and managed Hilary in her early career.
Hilary is currently dating Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden. She finally cleared up all the rumors in June 2005 by admitting they were dating, and had been seeing each other since she was only 16. Their first public appearance will be at the MTV Video Music Awards in August on the verge of Hilary's 18th birthday.
Filmography
Films
- Casper Meets Wendy (1998, direct-to-video)
- Playing by Heart (1998)
- Human Nature (2001)
- Agent Cody Banks (2003)
- The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)
- Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)
- A Cinderella Story (2004)
- Raise Your Voice (2004)
- In Search of Santa (2004, direct-to-video)
- The Perfect Man (2005)
- Material Girls (2006, currently filming)
- Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2006, currently filming)
- Foodfight! (2006, animated)
Television work
TV Guest Appearances
- George Lopez (TV Series) - Stephanie (makeup salesperson), in episode "Team Leader" (2003); Kenzie (feminist poet friend of Carmen), in episode "George's Grand Slam" (2005)
- American Dreams (TV Series) - With sister Haylie as the Shangri-Las, in episode "Change a Comin", November 23, 2003.
- Joan of Arcadia (TV Series) - Dylan Samuels, in episode "The Rise & Fall of Joan Girardi" (2005)
- The View (TV talk show) - Guest co-host (April 4-8, 2005)
Discography
Albums
- Most Wanted (2005)
- Hilary Duff (2004) US: #2 (Platinum)
- Metamorphosis (2003) US: #1 (3x Platinum)
- Santa Claus Lane (2002) US: #154 (Gold)
Hit Singles
- Wake Up (2005)
- I Am (2005)
- Haters (2004)
- Fly (2004)
- Our Lips Are Sealed (featuring Haylie Duff) (2004)
- The Girl Can Rock (2004)
- Come Clean (2004)
- A Little Voice (2003)
- So Yesterday (2003) #2 Canada
- Why Not (2003)
- I Can't Wait (2002)
Songs
Besides from her albums, Hilary also recorded songs for some soundtracks and compilations. Here are some of them:
- "I Can't Wait" (Lizzie McGuire soundtrack)
- "Why Not" (The Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack)
- "What Dreams Are Made of" (The Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack)
- "Why Not (McMix)" (The Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack)
- "Our Lips Are Sealed (with Haylie Duff)" (A Cinderella Story soundtrack)
- "Crash World" (A Cinderella Story soundtrack)
- "Now You Know" (A Cinderella Story soundtrack)
- "Santa Claus Lane (North Pole Mix)" (Radio Disney Jingle Jams)
- "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" (Disneymania Vol. 1)
- "The Siamese Cat Song (with Haylie Duff)" (Disneymania Vol. 2)
- "Circle of Life (with the Disney Channel Circle of Stars)" (Disneymania Vol. 2)
- "(I'll Give) Anything But Up!" (Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long)
Trivia
- Has naturally light brown hair. She dyes her hair blonde.
- Has five dogs.
- Did a single with Lil' Romeo.
- Has green eyes.
References
- Template:Note Huff, Richard (December 1, 2002). A very busy Miss 'Lizzie' (http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/39915p-37686c.html). New York Daily News. Retrieved May 22, 2005.
- Template:Note Ibid.
- Template:Note Ibid.
- Template:Note Ibid.
- Template:Note Ibid.
- Template:Note Anon (April 7, 2005). Duff Sisters Team For Material Girls (http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=9080). Retrieved May 22, 2005.
- Template:Note Anon (April 26, 2005). Trio Joins the Material Girls Cast (http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=9329). Retrieved June 19, 2005.
- Template:Note Anon (March 22, 2005). Animated Foodfight! at Lions Gate (http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=8878). Retrieved May 22, 2005.
- Template:Note Desens, Krista (May 27, 2005). Hilary Duff Records New Album (http://www.netmusiccountdown.com/inc/news_article.php?id=5567/1). Retrieved June 19, 2005.
- Template:Note Template:Citenews. Retrieved May 25, 2005.
External links
- Official fan site (http://www.hilaryduff.com/)
- Her weblog (http://www.hilaryduff.com/cgi-bin/diary/diary.pl)
- Template:Imdb name
- MTV Hilary Duff Profile (http://www.mtv.com/community/profiles/profile.jhtml?username=MTV_Hilary_Duff)
- Hilarymedia.net - Media site (http://hilarymedia.net/)
- All Music Guide Hilary Duff page (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDMISS70311071654390588&sql=Bne548qmpbtb4/)
- Hillary Duff Picture Gallery (http://www.teenidols4you.com/gallery/239/hillary_duff.html)
- All Movie Portal Hilary Duff Page (http://www.allmovieportal.com/c/hilaryduff.html)
- Hilary Duff Directory (http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/People/D/Duff,_Hilary/)
- Hilary Duff Wallpapers at Skins.be (http://www.skins.be/celebs/95-Hilary%20Duff%20wallpapers.html)de:Hilary Duff
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