Hilary Duff

1987-present

Latest News: Hilary Duff Is Making a Comeback to Music

After a lengthy hiatus, Hilary Duff is finally returning to music. The singer and actor signed with Atlantic Records on September 9 after putting her music career on hold to act and raise her children. Duff will also be the subject of an upcoming docuseries chronicling her comeback to music.

The currently untitled series is set to be directed by Sam Wrench, who is responsible for the 2023 concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. While a new album has yet to be announced, the docuseries will feature Duff in the recording studio working on new music.

The 37-year-old released her last album, Breathe In. Breathe Out. a decade ago in 2015, which was not as successful as her previous records. Following the record's mixed reception, she starred in the TV shows Younger and How I Met Your Father.

For many fans of the former teen pop star, her expected return is what dreams are made of.

Hilary Duff is an actor and singer known for her breakout role in the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire and its accompanying movie. Wildly popular with younger audiences, the Texas native continued to make a name for herself in the early 2000s with films like Cadet Kelly, A Cinderella Story, and Raise Your Voice. She also released several pop albums, including her multi-platinum record, Metamorphosis (2003). Duff later appeared in a number of independent films, including 2010's Beauty & the Briefcase, before starring the hit TV shows Younger (2015-2021) and How I Met Your Father (2022-2023). In 2025, she revealed that she's working on her sixth studio album.

FULL NAME: Hilary Erhard Duff
BORN: September 28, 1987
BIRTHPLACE: Houston, Texas
SPOUSES: Mike Comrie (2010-2016) and Matthew Koma (2019-present)
CHILDREN: Luca, Banks, Mae, and Townes
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Libra

Hilary Erhard Duff was born on September 28, 1987, in Houston, Texas to Susan and Bob Duff. Her mother was a homemaker turned film and music producer and her father owned of a chain of Texas convenience stores. Taking after her older sister, Haylie, Duff entered ballet classes and auditioned for local theatrical productions with her sibling at a young age. “I always wanted to be like my older sister, Haylie,” Duff later recalled. “When she learned to ride a bike, I had to as well. If she took ballet lessons, I did too. I took singing lessons because she did. It all just got more intense until it turned into careers for both of us.”

At the age of six, Duff was cast alongside her sister in a BalletMet Columbus production of The Nutcracker Suite in San Antonio. It was a positive experience for the girls, who, both aspired to act professionally. In 1993, they moved to California with their mother, who began managing their careers. Beginning at the age of eight, Duff was also home-schooled by her mother. Not long after, she landed her first uncredited onscreen appearance in the 1997 mini-series True Women.

Lizzie McGuire

The budding actor got her first big break in Hollywood when she landed the lead role of Wendy, starring opposite an animated ghost in the 1998 made-for-TV movie Casper Meets Wendy. She was later cast on the sitcom Daddio in 2000 but was dropped from the series after the pilot episode. Depressed, Duff wanted to quit show business, but her mother encouraged her not to give up her dream.

The very next week, she landed the lead role of new Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire, playing the titular character. The series, which premiered in 2001, soon became a runaway hit, making Duff a household name. The young actress was especially popular with younger audiences, though her fan base extended across all age ranges. “I don't think the Disney Channel gives us enough credit for the age range Lizzie McGuire actually has,” Duff once said. “College students come up to me, grandparents, famous people.”

Hilary Duff at the The Lizzie McGuire Movie premiere in 2003.

In 2003, Duff also starred in The Lizzie McGuire Movie, which was incredibly successful, grossing more than $55 million worldwide. Duff and Disney entered negotiations for an extension to the Lizzie McGuire franchise, but talks broke down over pay disputes. After starring in 65 episodes over two seasons, the show came to an end in 2004. While there were plans for a reboot in 2020, it was scrapped during filming.

Cadet Kelly, Agent Cody Banks, and Cheaper by the Dozen

Duff's success with Lizzie McGuire led her to work in other facets with Disney, including starring in the 2002 Disney Channel movie Cadet Kelly, about a free-spirited teenager who is forced to attend military school. The following year, the 16-year-old starred in the teen spy movie Agent Cody Banks alongside Frankie Muniz and played the daughter of Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt in Cheaper by the Dozen, later reprising her role in the 2005 sequel. By then, Duff had developed a reputation as a teen idol.

A Cinderella Story, Raise Your Voice, and Material Girls

Duff next starred opposite Chad Michael Murray in 2004's A Cinderella Story, a modern retelling on the well-known fairytale that was moderately successful at the box office, before appearing in the musical drama Raise Your Voice. That same year, the starlet launched her own fashion line, Stuff by Hilary Duff, which saw mass distribution through Target and K-Mart. She would later launch the fashion line Femme for DKNY Jeans.

Desperately wanting to move away from tween fare so that she could be taken seriously as an adult actress, Duff attempted to reshape her public image. She then starred in The Perfect Man with Heather Locklear in 2005, and in Material Girls with sister Haylie in 2006, but both films were met with negative reviews.

Duff was then offered the lead role in the reboot of the 90210 TV franchise, but passed on the part, preferring to make a definitive move from her high school image. She went on to appear in the 2008 political satire War, Inc. alongside John Cusack.

Gossip Girl and Beauty & the Briefcase

Continuing her efforts to bolster her image as a serious actress, Duff appeared in several independent films. In 2009, she starred in the indie drama According to Greta with Melissa Leo and Ellen Burstyn, and in the comedic drama Stay Cool with Winona Ryder, Jon Cryer and Chevy Chase. Duff was then cast alongside Val Kilmer and Kris Kristofferson in 2010's Bloodworth, and was later featured in the 2012 comedy She Wants Me, along with Josh Gad and Charlie Sheen.

Continuing to appear on the small screen, Duff played Lane Daniels in the 2010 TV movie Beauty & the Briefcase and guest-starred on a number of series, including Gossip Girl, earning a six-episode arc on the show's third season.

Younger

Hilary Duff on the set of Younger in 2017.

Beginning in 2015, Duff signed on to play the role of Kelsey Peters, an editor at a publishing house, in the TV series Younger, opposite Sutton Foster. The success of the first season has led to the show's longevity, marking her first major role on television since Lizzie McGuire. The series ran for an impressive seven seasons before ending in 2021.

The Haunting of Sharon Tate

Indicating that she had indeed moved well beyond the Disney princess image, Duff next starred as Sharon Tate, the actress killed by followers of Charles Manson in 1969, in 2019's The Haunting of Sharon Tate. The film drew mostly negative reviews, though it also picked up a few wins at the 2019 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival.

How I Met Your Father

Shortly after Younger went off the air, Duff returned to TV in 2022 in the Hulu series How I Met Your Father, a spinoff of the early aughts sitcom How I Met Your Mother. She played the lead character Sophie, who tells her children a very detailed story about she met their father. Despite showing improvement in its second season, the series received mixed reviews and was canceled a year later.

Duff released her debut studio album, Santa Claus Lane, in 2002 through Disney's music label, which featured 10 holiday-themed songs. It was later reissued in 2003 with added song “What Christmas Should Be.” She soon signed with Hollywood Records and released her first non-Disney pop album Metamorphosis in 2003, which quickly became a hit. Featuring songs written by both Duff and her sister, the record debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and included the charting singles “Come Clean” and “So Yesterday.” It eventually achieved multi-platinum certification in the United States. She soon released her self-titled third album in 2004, which featured the single “Fly.” The record sold 192,000 copies in its first week and later went platinum.

The following year, in 2005, Duff earned another No. 1 record with the compilation album Most Wanted. The project featured previously released songs as well as the brand new track “Wake Up,” which went on to land in the Billboard Hot 100 chart's top 30.

The singer delivered her fourth studio album, Dignity, in 2007, which was released to both critical and commercial acclaim, earning praise for its more mature sound. Working with American singer-songwriter Kara DioGuardi, Duff co-wrote all but one song on the album. The track “With Love” scored her highest entry on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, coming in at No. 24.

Duff's latest work, Breathe In. Breathe Out., arrived in 2015 through RCA Records. The album featured the singles “Chasing the Sun,” “All About You” and “Sparks,” but was not as successful as her previous projects. A decade later, in September 2025, she signed with Atlantic Records to work on new music—a journey that will be featured in an upcoming docuseries.

Outside of her performance career, Duff is heavily involved with charities, especially those focusing on the rights of animals and children. In 2005, she donated $250,000 to help victims of Hurricane Katrina and encouraged her fans to donate as well.

As she looks toward the future, Duff remains very aware of the unusual opportunities that allowed her to achieve a great amount of success at a young age, saying, “I wonder what life would have been like to have a different life. I sometimes wish I wasn't always watched or didn't have to worry about been seen somewhere. But I've experienced things other girls haven't. I've traveled, I'm financially independent, I own a beautiful home and I'm happy with my job. I don't have to struggle with the questions a lot of other women do.”

Duff also looks forward to challenges and opportunities for growth, both in her career and personal life. “I want to grow as a person, and I want to make mistakes,” she has stated. “I'm human, too. So I think I've gotten to a place where I'm really being myself.”

Hilary Duff with her husband, Matthew Koma.

On August 14, 2010, Duff married her longtime boyfriend, Mike Comrie, a professional hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League.

On March 20, 2012, Duff gave birth to the couple's first child, son Luca Cruz Comrie. In a 2013 interview with the Today show, Duff stated that she was “obsessed” with being a mom. “It's very humbling. It's all about him. ... It's his world. We're just living in it,” she said. “I feel like my heart just swelled. I didn't know I could love something so much. And that keeps getting more intense as he grows older.”

After Duff and Comrie divorced in 2016, the actor welcomed daughter Banks Violet Bair with musician Matthew Koma, in June 2018. The couple got engaged in May 2019 and tied the knot that December.

In March 2021, Duff and Koma welcomed their second child together, daughter Mae James. She gave birth to their youngest, a son named Townes, in May 2024.

As of June 2025, Duff has an estimated net worth of $25 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. In addition to music and acting, she has a fragrance line called Below 60.

• I want to grow as a person, and I want to make mistakes. I'm human, too. So I think I've gotten to a place where I'm really being myself.
• I always wanted to be like my older sister, Haylie. When she learned to ride a bike, I had to as well. If she took ballet lessons, I did too. I took singing lessons because she did. It all just got more intense until it turned into careers for both of us.
• I sometimes wish I wasn't always watched or didn't have to worry about been seen somewhere. But I've experienced things other girls haven't. I've traveled, I'm financially independent, I own a beautiful home and I'm happy with my job. I don't have to struggle with the questions a lot of other women do.
• It's very humbling. It's all about him ... It's his world. We're just living in it," she said. "I feel like my heart just swelled. I didn't know I could love something so much. And that keeps getting more intense as he grows older. [On motherhood and raising son Luca, born in 2012.]
• I don't think the Disney Channel gives us enough credit for the age range Lizzie McGuire actually has. College students come up to me, grandparents, famous people.

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