Hillary Duff

Actress, model, and singer, Hillary Duff is an American pop culture icon. She has appeared in movies, commercials and television shows, and has released three music albums that have all topped charts in North America.

Hillary Duff was born on September 28th, in Houston, Texas. She is the second child to parents Robert Duff, an owner of a chain of mini-markets, and Susan Cobb, a homemaker. Hillary’s acting career would begin with a series of local theatre productions, alongside her sister, Haylie Duff. At age six, Hillary and Haylie performed in a San Antonio production of the ballet ‘The Nutcracker Suite’.

Susan and her two daughters then moved to Los Angeles so that the sisters could pursue a performance career more seriously. Robert Duff remained in Texas to stay in control of the family’s store chain. In the coming years, Hillary and her sister would appear in a number of television commercials.

Hillary landed a couple of uncredited movie roles in the late 1990’s, but her first significant movie experience was the 1998 production ‘Casper Meets Wendy’. The movie went directly to videos and did not get a lot of attention.

In 1999, Hillary had a supporting role in a television movie called ‘The Soul Collector’, for which she won a Young Artist Award for her performance. Although she was dropped from the 2000 television show ‘Daddio’ before it aired, she landed a starring role in the series ‘Lizzie McGuire’ shortly after, a role that would gain her widespread recognition; she began appearing on teen magazines around the country. In 2002 she starred in the independent film ‘Human Nature’, which was rated highly by critics.

Hillary Duff’s first major film role was in the 2003 movie ‘Agent Cody Banks’, which got enough attention in the box office to make a sequel, also starring Hillary. Also in 2003, she appeared in the movie ‘Cheaper By the Dozen’ with Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt. In 2004 she appeared in ‘A Cinderella Story’, and starred in ‘Raise Your Voice’. Her most recent movie was ‘The Perfect Man’, and is starring in several upcoming movies.

Hillary’s music career began with songs she performed for TV series Lizzie McGuire. She also recorded a holiday album, Santa Claus Lane in 2002. She recorded her first non-holiday album, Metamorphosis in 2003, which went to number one on both U.S. and Canadian charts. Hillary’s second album, simply titled ‘Hillary Duff’, came towards the end of 2004 and also topped charts in North America. Her third album, ‘Most Wanted’, debuted at number one when it was released in 2005.

There have been many rumors about a feud between Hillary and fellow American pop culture icon, Lindsay Lohan, though neither Hillary or Lindsay have ever said anything to confirm any hard feelings between the two.

A girl of many talents, Hillary has already created a stirred in the music and acting industries. With more movies and music on the way, Hillary Duff is a name that will likely remain in spotlights for some time to come.