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There's been a dearth of teen idols in America since Michael Jackson grew up, so when a good one suddenly comes along, it's time to take notice. These days, when this teenage girl hits the streets, it's not quite Beatlemania, but the ensuing fan frenzy could give Madonna flashbacks to 1983. To put it simply, little Hilary Duff is huge. This 16 year old with her disarming charm and wholesome humour has enchanted more than two million "tweens" in America kids between childhood and adulthood, ages seven to 14 who've been tuning in week after week just to watch her on the successful Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire. And her appeal doesn't end there. Even cooler is having rocker Steven Tyler as a fan. The Aerosmith frontman liked the show so much that he agreed to be a guest star on last year's Christmas episode. Everybody seems to dig this chick.
And Hilary Duff is so ready to be 16. Not that the first 15 years of her life have been all that bad. Born in Houston, Texas on 28th Sept 1987, she's a multi-talented young lady, for she looks like a young Mariah Carey, sings like Britney Spears and can act better than either of them. Hilary splits her time between homes in Houston and Los Angeles with her parents, sister Haylie and two dogs. When she isn't acting and singing, Hilary is involved in sports and volunteer activities. She is an animal rights advocate and enjoys swimming, tumbling, rollerblading, practicing tae-bo, doing yo-yo tricks and loves walking on her hands! Her favourite hobby is "just hangin' out with friends." The performing bug hit the Duff sisters early. Hilary began her professional career at age six as a dancer with the Columbus Ballet Met touring company of The Nutcracker. Soon she landed a role in a television commercial, was bitten by the “acting bug” and quickly racked up a list of television and film acting credits. By the time Hilary was eight years old, the girls were enrolled in acting classes, auditioning for commercials, and hoping for success. But it wasn't always easy. They actually found a manager in Texas who said, that if they gave her a $1,000 she would take them out to Los Angeles and arrange auditions for them. They did that and the agent ditched them as soon as they got there.
Far from their Texas home with no prospects in sight, mom Susan Duff pioneered their cause. Their mom went to a bookstore and got all these books on the business and what to do and how to get an agent! She worked super hard for her girls and she finally got an agent and a manager and a couple of auditions. A couple turned into many. Her first part was in the mini-series, True Women, but her first starring role was as Ellie in The Soul Collector for which she won a Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot (Supporting Young Actress) Young Artist Award! Hilary also starred in TV movie Casper Meets Wendy in 1998, in which she played the young witch Wendy. She even managed to land a role in the theatrical production Playing by Heart with Sean Connery and Dennis Quaid.
Still, steady work wasn't easy to find. For Hilary would go to audition after audition after audition and maybe get two callbacks. Then in 2000, Hilary was cast for the pilot episode of the TV series Daddio, starring Michael Chiklis. This looked like it would be the big break. She had been on so many auditions and she finally got it. And then she got fired. That upset her a lot. It was at that point that Hilary wanted to go back home to Texas, but her mom insisted that she stay for she had one more audition left. It was for a new Disney show called Lizzie McGuire.
You can read the rest of our cover story on Hilary Duff in the October 2003 issue of The Record Music Magazine available at your local newsagent.
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