Hilary Duff is an indisputable millennial icon.
The American actress and singer’s name is on everybody’s lips at the moment, thanks to her comeback album Luck… Or Something and the accompanying world tour.
She’s playing dates in Australia in October as part of the The Lucky Me Tour, and her shows have mostly sold out after a ticketing frenzy that left fans queuing online in their thousands.
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Duff, now 38, made an impact on us all in the early 2000s, thanks to her roles in Disney series Lizzie McGuire, which began airing in 2001 when she was just 13, and in films including Cadet Kelly, Agent Cody Banks, The Lizzie McGuire Movie and the especially iconic A Cinderella Story and Raise Your Voice.
There seems to be a strong longing for the pop culture of the past among ’90s babies right now; even Miley Cyrus is jumping on the nostalgia trend with a reunion special for Hannah Montana to mark its 20th anniversary.
Now, Duff is winning over a new generation of fans, thanks to her new music and her more recent on-screen roles, including in the hit series Younger, also starring Sutton Foster.
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But she still honours her roots, recently posting some fun videos on social media, happily playing into the nostalgia of her early projects.
Here, nine.com.au takes a look at the enduring impact and legacy of Hilary Duff, and why she’s still so popular to this day.
The ticket frenzy even Hilary didn’t see coming
Duff has admitted she couldn’t believe thousands of people around the world queued online to buy tickets for her shows.
Speaking to Dakota Fanning in Interview Magazineone queue included “175,000 people”.
“I was like, ‘What’s happening?’ People from the label were like, ‘Are you okay?'” she said.
“I honestly want to cry when I think about that many people showing up for me 25 years into my career. It’s beyond what my vision was.
“It also makes me really nervous. I’m like, ‘Oh wait, I have to be really good.'”
Speaking of preparing mentally for performing again, she quipped on CBS Mornings ”I looked at myself in the mirror and I was like, ‘You’re a bad bitch and you’ve got this.’
“The love and support of people for 20-plus … almost 30 years is a really crazy badge to hold. I think to accept that role in someone’s life is an honour but it’s also, like, I realise it’s me and I have to just own that and be very appreciative.”
The So Yesterday hitmaker will play dates across Australia, the US, UK, Canada, and Mexico City.
In one tour announcement, the star wrote: “The [The Lucky Me Tour] name says it all. I truly feel so lucky to be able to be onstage again in front of all of you beautiful people. I can’t wait! See you on the lucky me tour … ✨🪩🍒.”
Duff was flooded by comments from fans asking to add more shows to the tour as tickets had sold out.
She announced ticket sales going on sale about a week ago, with a video referring to her iconic “LOL” scene from A Cinderella Story.
“Your social team is on fire 👏,” one user wrote on Instagram.
“You underestimated how many millennials have been waiting for this,” one said.
The role that birthed a millennial icon
Duff grew up in front of our very eyes, and alongside us, which is probably why most millennials feel quite attached to the star.
She was one of the leading Disney stars of the early 2000s, thanks to the TV series Lizzie McGuire and subsequent film The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
Her character’s fun outfits and hair styling inspired its young viewers, as did Lizzie’s quirky personality and friendships with Gordo and Miranda Sanchez.
Reflecting on how the role impacted on her during an interview on podcast Call Her Daddy this week, Duff said, “She was kind of like the ‘everybody’s girl’, and I also feel like I’ve always been that.”
“I’ve always been confident in who I am. And I think that she had that, but she was also kind of dorky and didn’t really fit under one category, and I think [that’s] why she was so loveable and endearing.
“I feel like I’ve also still kind of carry that, but I just can like dress chic sometimes,” she added with a laugh.
Duff believes she stayed grounded and humble, despite being catapulted to global fame, thanks to her upbringing.
“My mum was pretty strict. She she had this like weird combination of … she trusted us, but she was like, ‘You don’t get special treatment cause you’re on a TV show,”‘ the Texas-born star admitted.
Duff soon transitioned to the big screen and became the face of some of the most iconic teen movies of the era.
She appeared on screen with the likes of teen heartthrobs Chad Michael Murray and Tom Welling, and in the early 2000s she memorably dated late pop icon Aaron Carter.
There was also, of course, her ‘feud’ with fellow teen icon Lindsay Lohan; just this week, Duff confirmed the years-long rumour she intentionally ‘gatecrashed’ the 2003 premiere of Lohan’s movie The Parent Trap.
Duff also appeared in films with her sister Haylie Duff, like Material Girls in 2006. However, it’s believed the pair are now estranged.
From the screen to the music charts
Duff was, of course, an actor first but it wasn’t long before she dominated the charts, too.
She released her debut studio album Santa Claus Lane in 2002, but the following year came Metamorphosis, which featured hits So Yesterday and Come Clean.
The album’s success really put her on the map in the music world, while Come Clean was especially popular with millennials thanks to it being used on the hit reality show Laguna Beach.
Surprisingly, Duff admits she’s never watched the show that used her song.
“In a moment in time when you could not record TV shows, I was on tour,” she said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.
“So, I missed a huge chunk of big things that people talk about that I didn’t get to experience.
“And then my song was the theme song, and I loved that because I lived at MTV for a while.”
Her other albums include Dignity and Breathe In. Breathe Out.
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Growing up in the spotlight
Over the years, Duff’s personal life has played out in the headlines.
She once dated Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden, the couple sharing a significant age gap.
She later married former ice hockey player Mike Comrie, who she shares a son with, but they ultimately split.
Now, she’s with musician and songwriter Matthew Koma, 38, and is a mother of four.
Koma has worked with the singer with her music comeback this year.
When she released the track Mature, he shared a sweet tribute to his wife, who he married in 2019.
“Ba, I hope the world loves this song, loves your album, and gives you all the flowers you deserve – but I simultaneously don’t really give a f–k what anyone thinks because we got to make something YOU love, that you think is rad, and we got to do it together – the rest is a bonus,” he wrote.
“Congratulations to my sweet wife, you’re the f–king coolest.”
Judging by the response to her new music and tour, it’s safe to say that view is still echoed by her legions of fans all these years later.
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