There’s nothing quite like a good early 2000s Disney Channel TV show to stir up some nostalgia. For many fans, Lizzie McGuire was their favorite. The series aired from 2001 to 2004, starring Hilary Duff. The series remains one of Duff’s most career-defining roles. And in a new interview with Bustle, she talks about the role and what breaking out of the Lizzie McGuire role was like.
Duff has had multiple roles outside of Disney. Although, she attributes her success to all things Lizzie. “If Lizzie McGuire and Disney taught me anything, it taught me how to work. And how to power through and be energetic and show up,” she said.
Duff was only 13 when she landed the role of Lizzie, which she admitted to being too young for her to know how to separate herself from the character she played. “I was too young to do a character dive on Lizzie,” Duff said. “I think I was just playing myself. And I really related to that girl. She was me, and I was her, and that was that.”
Duff admitted her breakout role also halted her future in Hollywood at times. She recalled casting directors saying things such as, “Oh, she’s too famous. She’s too sweet. We know her as Lizzie McGuire.”
Of course, the talented star desired to be seen as an individual aside from her role as Lizzie McGuire. “By the time I was 18, I was like, ‘If I hear that name [Lizzie McGuire] one more time!'” she said.
Nowadays, Duff has fully accepted that people will always see her has Lizzie McGuire. “I’ve obviously had to think about [Lizzie] a lot,” she said. “The lines get so blurry between me and her, and I think they are for the world, still. And they probably always will be. I think just accepting that has brought me a lot of peace.”
